Gilberto Gil: Salvador City Councillor - Part 1

There were so many strange goings-on in Gilberto Gil's first—and only—venture into the world of elected office that his story made its way into Bahian political folklore. 

He had arrived in Salvador in 1987 with ambitions of becoming the city's mayor. What followed was a tale of power intrigues, party disputes, and an exchange of barbed, provocative comments, which would even play out at a national level. It would all end with him being elected city councilor. 

Gil's time in politics from 1987 to 1992, which preceded his earnest and Solomonic mandate as culture minister in 2003, became a real talking point. It all began when Gil moved back to Salvador as part of his plan to be elected mayor of the Bahian capital. 

Mário Kertész was in charge at the time, and Gil came back to take up the role of president of the Gregório de Mattos Foundation—a kind of informal culture secretariat in Salvador.

During his time at the foundation, as a precursor to taking on the role of culture minister in 2003, Gil demonstrated his ability as a diligent public servant. He pursued projects that were key to forging an Afro-Bahian cultural citizenship...

Such as legalizing the tenure of buildings and land belonging to the Candomblé religious tradition, and setting up Benin House (Casa do Benin) in the city's Pelourinho neighborhood, old colonial mansion was converted by the architect Lina Bo Bardi.

The space would house items donated by Benin's government during a visit that Gil coordinated. 

Kertész had given Gil this position as a way of showing his support and making Gil his natural successor. Both Kertész and Bahia's governor at the time, Waldir Pires, were members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). It was when Gil decided to join that the intrigue started.

In 1987, Gil organized a trip to Benin, África. The goal was to propose a cultural and political exchange.

Accompanying Gil on the trip to Benin were Kertész, the visual artist Carybé, Mãe (Mother) Stella de Oxóssi (a Candomblé priestess or iyalorixá from the Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá temple), Gil's wife Flora, and even the Franco-Brazilian photographer and ethnologist Pierre Verger.

The trip's committee was well received in the country and gifted with traditional garments.

Mário Kertész and Pierre Verger in Benin.

The footage and material was exhibited at Benin House, in Salvador.

The PMDB had been a kind of champion of democracy during the country's transition to democracy, bringing together a wide range of political viewpoints under its umbrella, from former communists to conservatives.

In 1986, the party under Waldir had demonstrated unprecedented strength when it inflicted a clamorous defeat on the Liberal Front Party (PFL), to which Minister Antônio Carlos Magalhães belonged. Bahia would not see another defeat of this magnitude until 2006, with Jaques Wagner, the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) candidate. 

The only problem was that party members did not agree on Gilberto Gil's candidacy. "I remember going to talk to Waldir and he said to me: 'Your candidacy will tear the PMDB apart,'" Gil told the Folha de São Paulo newspaper for an article about the 30 years since his time as a councilor.

The seeds of discord had been sown, since Waldir Pires' backing was essential if Gil was to be Kertész's obvious replacement. Gil had been rejected by the party's more conservative wing because of his provocative libertarian stance, which went beyond the era's Spartan political norms. 

Even his dress code was scrutinized, simply because he preferred tunics to suits, wore an earring, and had a Black Power hairstyle.

Moreover, Gil was campaigning for causes that were rather unorthodox for the time, such as protecting the environment. He was simply too ahead of his time for the traditional mindset in that time and place. "I had more progressive ideas about how to reconcile the deeply rooted, historical Salvador...

"...with modern Salvador. I wanted to find a balance between the two cities," Gil recalled during that same interview with the Folha de São Paulo. 

Unfortunately, it was not just Gil's attitudes standing in the way of his dreams of becoming the mayor of Salvador.

There were so many different factions in the PMDB that the infighting ended up causing the party to collapse and a rift to form between Mayor Mário Kertész and Governor Waldir Pires. Finding himself between a rock and a hard place, Gil ended up being squeezed out and losing his bargaining power. 

 He never realized his dream of being the coalition's candidate, since the party opted to please its conservative members by choosing the radio announcer Fernando José, who enjoyed the powerful backing of the media and the business magnate Pedro Irujo.

Gil was left with just running for councillor, but he was determined not to let his rejection be for nothing. He chose the comedian Chico Anysio's TV show to launch his campaign. Aware of what was happening in politics, Chico had created the characters Zelberto Zel and Caretano Zeloso. 

Anysio used them to parody the intrigue surrounding Gil's attempts to reach Thomé de Souza Palace, the municipal government's headquarters.

On national TV, Gil performed his latest song, Pode Waldir? (Could It Be, Waldir?). With a certain amount of irony and mockery, Gil used the song to let off steam over the opposition he had faced to his candidacy.

"For mayor, no 
 For mayor, no 
 And for councillor 
Could it be, Waldir? 
Could it be, Waldir? 
Could it be, Waldir? 
Not yet mayor, because that's a job for leaders 
And in this Bahian city 
A leader! A leader must be one of those 
Professors, magistrates, 
 Well-to-do, learned, delegates 
Or even our feudal lords 
It is still too soon for a poet, he is scared  
That the poet will come for more firewood 
From the São João bonfire"

Jânio de Freitas denounced the prejudice towards Gil.

The dissatisfaction was evident in the number of votes he received as City Councilor.

The booklet predicted what was to follow.