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Collor de Mello, Fernando Afonso

Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello

b. 12 Aug 1949, Rio de Janeiro

Title: Presidente da República (President of the Republic)
Term: 15 Mar 1990 - 29 Dec 1992
Chronology: 17 Dec 1989, elected by direct popular voting
  15 Mar 1990, took the oath of office at the session of the National Congress, Congressional Palace, meeting hall of the Chamber of Deputies, Brasília
  29 Sep 1992, Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution on impeachment and 180-day suspension of President of the Republic from office (Diário do Congresso Nacional, Seção I, Quarta-Feira, 30 de Setembro de 1992, N 161, 22121-22127)
  2 Oct 1992, suspension took effect as the President signed a notice from the Federal Senate at a private ceremony, Planalto Palace, Brasília
  29 Dec 1992, National Congress accepted the resignation of President of the Republic (dated 29 Dec 1992)
Biography:

Fernando Afonso Collor de Mello was born in the family of an Alagoas politician, Arnon Afonso de Farias Melo, who was governor of this state in 1951-1956. Educated in economics and journalism at the University of Brasília, Collor worked for his family's media group. His political career began with the appointment as prefect (mayor) of Maceió (1979-1982). Enlisted as a candidate of the Social Democratic Party (Partido Democrático Social), Collor was elected federal deputy for Alagoas (1983-1986). Supported next time by the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro), he was elected Governor of the State of Alagoas (15 Mar 1987 - 14 May 1989). Relatively unknown to the Brazilian electorate, Collor and his National Reconstruction Party (Partido da Reconstrução Nacional, PRN) entered a crowded race for the presidential succession in 1989. Backed by the powerful media, Collor defeated his opponent, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in the runoff election on 17 Dec 1989 and took office on 15 Mar 1990. The youngest president ever, and the first to be directly elected since 1960, Collor announced the New Brazil plan, providing for sweeping reforms targeted at ending the economic crisis that had plagued Brazil for a decade. Despite ambitious program of actions and drastic measures, the Collor administration achieved mixed results, while national economy continued to be in a deep recession. Congressional elections in December 1990 revealed disillusionment of voters giving Collor's PRN less than 10 percent in the Chamber of Deputies. In May 1992, the statements made by the president's brother, Pedro Collor de Mello, caused an explosion in the political situation: the president and his advisors were accused of receiving enormous amounts of money from private companies as a kickback for awarding profitable contracts. A four-month investigation culminated in a televised voting in the Chamber of Deputies (29 Sep 1992). The Chamber voted [1] to impeach Collor and consequently to suspend him from office for 180 days. Maintaining his innocence, Collor complied with the parliamentary resolution and temporarily transferred the presidency to Vice President Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (2 Oct 1992). With no prospects for acquittal, Collor submitted his resignation minutes after the Federal Senate opened his impeachment trial (29 Dec 1992). The Senate, nevertheless, completed the trial, convicting Collor of the corruption charges and barring him from holding public office for a period of eight years.

Elections:

Candidate Popular vote (1st round: 15 Nov 1989) [2] Popular vote (2nd round: 17 Dec 1989) [2]
Fernando Afonso Collor de Mello 22,611,011 (28.52%) 35,089,998 (49.94%)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 11,622,673 (16.08%) 31,076,364 (44.23%)
Leonel de Moura Brizola 11,168,228 (15.45%) -
Mário Covas Júnior 7,790,392 (10.78%) -
Paulo Salim Maluf 5,986,575 (8.28%) -
Guilherme Afif Domingos 3,272,462 (4.53%) -
Ulisses Silveira Guimarães 3,204,932 (4.43%) -
Roberto João Pereira Freire 769,123 (1.06%) -
Antônio Aureliano Chaves de Mendonça 600,838 (0.83%) -
Ronaldo Ramos Caiado 488,846 (0.68%) -
Afonso Alves de Camargo Neto 379,286 (0.52%) -
Enéas Ferreira Carneiro 360,561 (0.50%) -
JoséAlcides Marronzinho de Oliveira 238,425 (0.33%) -
Paulo Gontijo 198,719 (0.27%) -
Zamir JoséTeixeira 187,155 (0.26%) -
Lívia Maria Ledo Pio de Abreu 179,922 (0.25%) -
Eudes de Oliveira Mattar 162,350 (0.22%) -
Fernando Paulo Nagler Gabeira 125,842 (0.17%) -
Celso Teixeira Brant 109,909 (0.15%) -
Antônio dos Santos Pedreira 86,114 (0.12%) -
Manoel Antônio de Oliveira Horta 83,286 (0.12%) -
Armando Corrêa da Silva 4,363 (0.01%) -
blank 1,176,413 (1.6%) 986,446 (1.40%)
void 3,473,484 (4.4%) 3,107,893 (4.42%)

[1] Voting results: 441 in favor, 38 against, 1 abstention, 23 absent.
[2] Dicionário do voto (2000)
  Image: photograph by Paulo Fridman, 1 May 1992.