Evandro Sá Barreto Leitão (born 16 April 1967) is a Brazilian politician who is affiliated with the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

(PT). He is a state deputy in the state of

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, and is currently president of the Legislative Assembly of Ceará (Alece). In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, he was elected mayor of the city of

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

, and took office on 1 January 2025. In 2022, he was reelected as a state deputy with 113,808 votes. This was his third consecutive run and was elected president of the state assembly for the 2021-2022 half-session and was reelected president for the other half-session, from 2023 to 2024.

Biography

Leitão was born on 16 April 1967 in Fortaleza. He is the son of Wellington Rocha Leitão and Silvia Maria Miranda Barreto Leitão. Evandro is married to Cristiane Sales Leitão, and has three children: Kaio, Cecília and Eduardo. He has one grandchild, Lucca. Leitão has worked as a public servant, including as the joint auditor of the State Secretary of Finances of Ceará (Sefaz). He graduated with a degree in Economic Sciences from the University of Fortaleza (Unifor), and later with a law degree from the Faculdade Integrada do Ceará (FIC). He also has done post-graduate work in public management with the Administration Secretary of Ceará, and in marketing from the Bolsa de Valores Regional.

President of
Ceará Sporting Club Ceará Sporting Club, or simply Ceará, () is a Brazilian Football League Teams, Brazilian professional football club from the city of Fortaleza, capital city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Ceará. Founded on June 2, 1914, Cear ...
(2008-2015)

Due to his graduation as an economist, Leitão came to work as one of the directors of Ceará Sporting Club, one of

Northeast Brazil The Northeast Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five official and political regions of Brazil, regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises nine: Maranhão, ...

's main sports teams. Starting in March 2008, he became the president of the club, later being reelected to serve in the position until 2015. As part of the "Alvinegro" (or "Vovô"), the team would go on to win an edition of the

Copa do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (English: ''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''English: Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (English: ''Northeastern Cup'') is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern re ...

, the

Campeonato Cearense The Campeonato Cearense is the professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Ceará. It is run by the Ceará Football Federation (FCF). In over a hundred years of competition, only 11 clubs have won the title. List of champio ...

four times, an ascension to

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

, as well as a rare appearance at the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

. After stepping down from the presidency, Leitão would go on to be part of the deliberative council of the club from 2018 to 2022.

2010 State Elections

After a particularly successful season for Ceará Sporting Club, including advancing to the

2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 53rd edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. It was contested by 20 clubs starting on May 9 and ending on December 6. The 2009 edition was wo ...

(third place in the 2009 Série B), Leitão began to pursue a career in politics. In 2010, as a member of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT), he ran for a seat in the Legislative Assembly, obtaining 31,850 votes. Though he was unsuccessful in this election, becoming a substitute, he was invited to become a state secretary for the year after.

State Secretary of Work and Social Development (2011-2013)

Leitão has been nominated to become the state secretary of Work and Social Development of Ceará from 2011 to 2013 during the second term of governor Cid Gomes.

State deputy (2015-present)

Leitão was elected as a state deputy for the first time in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

with 70,228 votes, being the 12th most voted for candidate among the 46 elected. He became known in state politics as the leader of Camilo Santana's coalition in the state legislature from 2015 to 2018. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, he had been voted for in 172 different municipalities. He was the ninth place out of the 46 seats in the Legislative Assembly and in fifth place in the coalition, receiving 83,486 votes. Leitão was elected president of the Legislative Assembly of Ceará by unanimous vote for 2021 to 2022 and reelected for the 2023-2024 period. Leitão would go on to become a member, be president, or councilmember of various organizations and councils relating to various causes in Ceará. Leitão had been considered as a candidate for the PDT to run for governor in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, but had previously declared that he was working with the intention of his own re-election as a state deputy. In April, he signaled support for the candidacy for the incumbent governor of Ceará, Izolda Cela. On 29 August 2023, he confirmed his exit from the PDT. On 17 December 2023, he became affiliated with the PT, with the objective to run for the mayoral race in Fortaleza. In a tight race, he won against André Fernandes of the PL, and is set to take office on 1 January 2025.

References