Brazilian politicians express condolences on death of governor

Criado em 02/12/13 18h39 e atualizado em 02/12/13 18h54
Por Danilo Macedo and Ivan Richard Fonte:Agência Brasil

Brasília – The wake of Marcelo Déda, governor of the state of Sergipe, will be held in the state's capital city, Aracaju. He died from a gastrointestinal cancer, early on Monday morning (Dec. 2) at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital, in São Paulo. He had married twice, and now leaves five children.

President Dilma Rousseff attended the wake. She was a great admirer of his political skills as well as his tact when facing adversities; she expressed her condolences: “I lost a great friend today – one of those companions for good and bad moments alike. Déda shall be missed, but the example set by him shall guide us.”

The National President of the Workers’ Party (“PT”), Rui Falcão, declared in a note that PT “is deeply saddened” by the death of the governor, whom they mention as “a politician and a public man to be followed; […] he never gave up a fight, and, ever since he was young, he stood out for facing the conservative oligarchies in his state and in Brazil.”

President of the Senate Renan Calheiros also issued a note in which he remembers Déda’s “early” death: “[He] was a great figure in PT and an exponent of national politics, having participated courageously in the debates of all major issues of Sergipe and Brazil. A cultivated man with an admirable personality; his charisma and eloquence were captivating and utterly outstanding.”

Representatives from PT in the Chamber of Deputies have also released a note: “Déda was one of a kind – cheerful and good-natured, fond of good music and a remarkably skilled politician and defender of the public interest. He was an exemplary public man. PT loses an active fighter – a person who was always present in our party’s routine.”

For the governor of Bahia, Jaques Wagner, Marcelo Déda’s death “leaves a great void in the politics of Sergipe and Brazil.” In his grief note, he said that the PT member was “a brilliant deputy, mayor and governor. He was extremely cultivated, well-prepared – a skillful speaker, who, in his youth, still had much to contribute to the Brazilian people and the people of Sergipe.”

The Chamber of Deputies has scheduled a minute’s silence in Marcelo Déda’s memory at the beginning of a session due to start at 2 p.m. on Monday (Dec. 2).

Edited by Graça Adjuto / Talita Cavalcante / Lícia Marques
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira