Barreto also served as the Mayor of Aracaju, the state's largest city, from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1993 to 1994.Barreto won re-election for a full term as governor in the Sergipe gubernatorial election on October 5, 2014.
Governor Barreto received 53.51% of the vote, while his closest opponent, Eduardo Amorim of the PSC, placed second with 41.33% of the vote.