Zequinha Marinho

José da Cruz Marinho, also known as Zequinha Marinho, is a Brazilian educator, accounting technician, and politician affiliated with Podemos (PODE ). He is currently serving his first term as a senator for the state of Pará, where he was vice-governor between 2015 and 2019. He holds a degree in Pedagogy from the State University of Pará (UEPA) , a Bachelor's degree in Theology from Faculdade João Calvino (DF), is a certified accounting technician, and is pursuing a postgraduate degree in Public Administration at Faculdade Internacional (PR).

Political Career

He began his political career in 1994, running for state representative for the PDT party, which he had been affiliated with since 1992, receiving 7,965 votes. Initially an alternate, he was later appointed to the parliamentary position in 1997. In 1998, he was re-elected with 16,060 votes.

In 2002, Marinho ran for Federal Deputy, being elected with 76,177 votes, achieving 10th place among the other candidates. Throughout his first term in Brasília, he was a member of several political parties: upon assuming office in 2003, he joined the PTB , and in the same year, he went to the PSC , where he remained until 2005, when he joined the MDB ; in the same year, he was without affiliation for a certain period until returning to the PSC, where he ran for re-election in 2006, being elected with 91,577 votes, as the 12th most voted in the state. After the election, he left the PSC again and returned to the MDB, where he remained until 2009, when he returned to his previous party, to which he is still affiliated today. In 2010, he ran again for the Federal House of Representatives, being elected for the third consecutive time with 147,615 votes, placing him 7th in the vote count.

In 2014, he ran for the position of vice-governor of Pará on the ticket of then-governor and reelection candidate Simão Jatene (PSDB) , being elected in the second round. He became the first vice-governor from the Southern Region of the State.

In 2021, he left the PSC and joined the PL , where he ran for governor of Pará in 2022, in a coalition headed by his former party, the PSC, and the Patriota party , entitled União do Bem Pelo Pará (Union for Good for Pará), being one of the candidates linked to the President of the Republic and candidate for re-election, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) . He finished in 2nd place, with 1,201,079 votes, equivalent to 27.13% of the valid votes, being defeated by his former ally, Helder Barbalho (MDB) , in an election decided in the first round.

Performance in the National Congress

The senator stands out for his defense of freedom of expression, the fight against drug trafficking, and the improvement of public safety. He seeks to implement effective policies to reduce the impact of drugs and has proposed initiatives to strengthen street security and prevent violence, always focusing on protecting citizens' rights. Furthermore, Zeca Marinho is concerned about the rights of people with reduced mobility.

Among his main achievements, the following stand out:

• He is the author of Bill 295/2024 , which amends the Penal Code to provide for prosecution through unconditional public criminal action for the crime of damage in the context of domestic violence against women.

• He is the author of Bill 2920/2022 , which amends Law No. 13,874, of September 20, 2019, to eliminate, under the conditions specified, the prohibition on engaging in economic activity as a micro-entrepreneur by public servants of any of the federated entities, and provides other measures.

• He is the rapporteur for Bill 1476/2024 , which regulates the transportation of passengers with physical mobility difficulties by companies operating private individual paid passenger transportation applications in four-wheeled motor vehicles.