Saturday, August 22nd. That night, the campaign of federal deputy Danilo Forte (PP-CE) was preparing to distribute material in a square in Cidade 2000, a neighborhood in the east of Fortaleza. The activity, however, did not take place. The militants were stopped, under threat from men carrying firearms who said that the place was controlled by a faction. Forte filed a complaint with the Federal Police and the TRE (Regional Electoral Court).
The episode took place two days after two men were arrested in Forquilha, in the metropolitan region of Sobral (in the interior of the state), on suspicion of threats and extortion in the electoral context.
According to the Secretariat of Public Security and Social Defense, they had acted to prevent political activities in the municipality at the behest of a member of the CV (Comando Vermelho), who was in Rio de Janeiro.
On the 27th, eight CV members were arrested in Operation Arquipélago 2 for crimes in Forquilha and surrounding areas. One of the suspects was located in a hospital in Rio.
The action by the Civil Police of Ceará, with support from the body in the state of Rio, aimed to dismantle a cell of the faction in the municipality and also investigated extortion of local politicians, with amounts of up to R$300,000. Those arrested in the operation are being investigated separately from the two men detained on August 20.
Arquipélago 2 is not the first operation to investigate the CV's performance in elections in the state.
Before that, on August 11, three councilors were arrested in Sobral, as part of Operation Omertà, by the Public Ministry of Ceará, which is investigating the suspected involvement of the faction in the 2024 and 2026 elections. Candidates would pay around R$60,000 to campaign in neighborhoods in the municipality.
The TRE had identified possible interference by the faction in the 2024 municipal elections. In addition to the capital and Sobral, Morada Nova, Canindé, Tejuçuoca and Iguatu had caught the court's attention following local complaints. The investigations highlighted threats, restrictions on movement and pressure on voters.
Although Santa Quitéria, near Forquilha, was not on the TRE list in 2024, the winners of the municipal election were revoked for abuse of political and economic power in the election. Following a complaint from the Public Electoral Ministry, in December of the same year, the mayor, José Braga Barrozo, aka Braguinha (PSB), and his deputy, Francisco Gardel, aka Gardel Padeiro (PP), lost their mandate.
The decision was confirmed by the TSE last March. According to the investigation, the party relied on the CV structure to intimidate voters and supporters of the opposing candidacy.
The Electoral Court has shown concern about the infiltration of criminal factions in the elections. This Thursday (27), the TSE approved the sending of federal forces to 67 municipalities in Ceará in the first round, on October 4.
The reinforcement had been requested by the TRE, which also spoke with the Federal Police about election security planning.
The TRE also accepted the Mission's request for the protection of Delegate Huggo Leonardo, its candidate for state government. To date, it was the only formal request made by a candidate or party in Ceará.
Candidate for re-election, Governor Elmano de Freitas (PT) said in a post on X, last Wednesday (26), that he trusted the work of state forces, but that "all federal cooperation is welcome". In Fortaleza, the election will be monitored by the Military Police.
Ricardo Moura, researcher at the Violence Studies Laboratory at the Federal University of Ceará, defines the actions of the factions as an example of "criminal governance". The concept describes situations in which residents need to deal with the rules of the State and, at the same time, with those imposed by criminal groups.
Moura says that a survey still needs to be carried out to find out where the problem occurs. Even though the number of municipalities and neighborhoods affected is small, he says, the complaints already raise an alert, as the practice could change the outcome of the elections. "It's a huge affront to democracy."
