Gerson Camata (June 29, 1941 – December 26, 2018) was a Brazilian journalist and politician. Camata served in

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Australian Senate ** The Brazilian Senate * ...

for three terms from 1987 until 2011. He was also the first person directly elected

Governor of Espírito Santo A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, an office he held from 1983 to 1986, following the restoration of democracy in the 1980s.

Biography

Camata graduated from

Federal University of Espírito Santo The Federal University of Espírito Santo (, ''Ufes'') is a federal university with headquarters in the city of Vitória, capital of Espírito Santo state, in Brazil. It is the largest and most important university in the state of Espírito Sant ...

with a degree in economics. He worked as a journalist and host for Radio Espírito Santo, where he covered crime and the police. In 1967, Camata began his political career as a Vitória city alderman for the National Renewal Alliance (ARENA), the party of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil at the time. He served on the city council from 1967 until 1970, when he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Espírito Santo The Legislative Assembly of Espírito Santo () is the unicameral legislature of the state of Espírito Santo in Brazil. It has 30 state deputies elected by proportional representation. It is located in the city of Vitória. References Externa ...

as an ARENA state deputy. In 1974, Camata was elected to the federal

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

as a member of ARENA. He won re-election to a second term in the Chamber of Deputies in 1978. In 1979, with the legalization of opposition parties, Camata left ARENA and joined the newly formed

Brazilian Democratic Movement Party The Brazilian Democratic Movement (, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, with the most numbers of senators, ...

(PMDB) in opposition to the government. In 1982, Camata announced his candidacy for

. He won the 1982 Espírito Santo gubernatorial election with 67% of the vote, becoming the first person directly elected as Espírito Santo's governor during the transition to democracy. He served as governor from 1983 until 1986, when he resigned to run for the

. His vice governor, , succeeded Camata as the new governor of Espírito Santo. Camata was elected to his first term in the Federal Senate in the

1986 Brazilian legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Brazil on 15 November 1986.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p174 The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party won 260 of the 487 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and ...

. He won re-election to Senate in the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

legislative elections. Camata served the Senate for twenty-four years (and three full terms) until his retirement in 2011. During his final term, Camata simultaneously served as the state Secretary of Development, Infrastructure and Transport under Governor

Paulo Hartung Paulo Cesar Hartung Gomes (born April 21, 1957) is a Brazilian politician and was the Governor of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo from 2003 until 2010. He served as Governor of Espírito Santo for a third, nonconsecutive term from January ...

, beginning in May 2006.

Assassination

On December 26, 2018, Camata was shot and killed by a former aide in the neighborhood of

Vitória, Espírito Santo Vitória (; ) is the capital of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is located on a small island within a bay where a number of rivers meet the sea. It was founded in 1551. The city proper is and has a population of 322,869 (2022), whilst ...

. The shooting occurred outside a restaurant near the intersection of Chapot Presvot and Joaquim Lyrio streets. Camata was shot in the left shoulder. The bullet exited through his right shoulder, causing damage to his internal organs. He did not survive the attack and died at the age of 77. Police captured the assailant, Marcos Vinícius Moreira Andrade, a former aide to Camata, just minutes after the attack. Camata, a resident of the Ilha do Frade neighborhood of Vitória, was survived by his wife,

Rita Camata Rita de Cássia Paste Camata (born January 1, 1961) is a Brazilian politician and journalist Early life She was born in Conceição do Castelo, to Antônio Paste and Anidis Venturim Paste. In 1981 she attended the Federal University of Espí ...

, a former state and federal deputy, and their two children, Bruno and Enza Rafaela. Espírito Santo Governor

declared seven days of mourning following Camata's murder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camata, Gerson 1941 births 2018 deaths People from Castelo, Espírito Santo Brazilian people of Italian descent National Renewal Alliance politicians Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Brazilian Social Democracy Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Espírito Santo Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Governors of Espírito Santo Members of the Legislative Assembly of Espírito Santo Assassinated Brazilian politicians Brazilian radio journalists Spouses of Brazilian politicians South American politicians assassinated in the 2010s Grand Officers of the Order of Ipiranga Politicians assassinated in 2018 Federal University of Espírito Santo alumni