Plans for opposition truce in Brazil will be dead on arrival

Last Sunday, Ciro Gomes of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT) proposed a temporary political ceasefire with the Workers’ Party (PT). His conciliatory words came one day after he was verbally — and almost physically — assaulted by a small group of PT supporters while he spoke at an anti-Bolsonaro rally in São Paulo. Several prominent opposition figures expressed their solidarity with Mr. Gomes, who is the leading light of the PDT, a center-left party with deep historical roots but relatively limited public support.

In reaction to Mr. Gomes’s proposal, Fernando Haddad — the PT presidential nominee in 2018 — said he hoped for a permanent truce with Mr. Gomes, but noted that the PDT figurehead is the one who had made intensely critical remarks about former President Lula, Mr. Haddad himself, and other key members of the PT in the recent past.

For her part, PT chairwoman Gleisi Hoffmann lamented the way Ciro Gomes was treated at last weekend’s demonstration, adding that her party has been at peace with Mr. Gomes “for a long time.”

What exactly this ceasefire would mean in practice remains unclear. Mr. Gomes has continued his political attacks on both Lula and President Bolsonaro, attempting to present himself as a credible alternative for the 2022 election.

Why the alliance won’t work

Ciro Gomes is gearing up for a fourth presidential run after finishing third in 1998, 2002, and 2018. He boasts perhaps the longest resume of...