for the São Paulo mayor election. Erundina went on to win the first major election for the PT. In 1990 he ran for governor of São Paulo, being defeated by the state secretary of public safety Luiz Antonio Fleury Filho, candidate for the PMDB, which had the support of the sitting governor Orestes Quércia. PSOL and presidencial candidature After leaving the Workers Party, in which he was a founding member and historic leader, Arruda Sampaio joined the PSOL. He did not agree with the political direction of the PT at the time, quitting the party in 2005. In 2006 Arruda Sampaio was PSOL candidate for the governorship of São Paulo. Defending the struggle for socialism, the program differed from the popular-democratic direction of the PSOL majority, represented by Heloísa Helena, who was then the PSOL presidential candidate. During the Second Congress of the PSOL, the state deputy Raul Marcelo launched the pre-candidacy of Arruda Sampaio to the presidency. His purpose was to build a program that served to counter the effects of the economic crisis on workers, and the unity of the socialist left against capital. Death On July 8, 2014, Arruda Sampaio died at the Hospital Sírio-Libanês (Syrian-Lebanese Hospital) in São Paulo, victim of a bone cancer which he fought against for over a month. He was survived by six children, including Plínio de Arruda Sampaio Jr. References External links article in support of his campaign 1930 births 2014 deaths Writers from São Paulo 20th-century Brazilian lawyers University of São Paulo alumni Socialism and Liberty Party politicians Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Candidates for President of Brazil Brazilian Christian socialists Brazilian Roman Catholics Brazilian columnists Catholic socialists Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in São Paulo (state)