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made matters worse by a lack of decisiveness, and wasn't helped by the sleaze that hung
like a fog around his government, with
corruption
institutionalized on a massive scale.
No progress was made on the economic front either. By 1990 inflation accelerated into
hyperinflation
proper, and, despite spending almost US$40 billion repaying interest on
the foreign debt, the principal had swollen to US$120 billion. The high hopes of 1985
had evaporated - Sarney had brought the whole notion of civilian politics into
disrepute and achieved the near-impossible: making the military look good.
Collor and Franco (1990-94)
Brazil still managed to begin the next decade on a hopeful note, with the inauguration
in 1990 of
Fernando Collor de Melo
(born 1949), the first properly elected president for
thirty years, after a heated but peaceful campaign had managed to consolidate democracy
at a di
cult economic moment. The campaign had passed the torch to a new generation
of Brazilians, as the young Collor, playboy scion of one of Brazil's oldest and richest
families, had squared off against
Lula
. Now a respected - and feared - national politician,
head of the Workers' Party that the strike movement had evolved into, Lula took most of
the cities, but Collor's conservative rural support was enough to secure a narrow victory.
His presidency began promisingly enough, but the economy resisted all attempts at
surgery and inflation began to climb again. Collor became even more unstable than the
economy; he was increasingly erratic in public and rumours grew about dark goings-on
behind the scenes. Thanks to fine journalism and a denunciation by Collor's own brother
(apparently angry that Fernando had made a pass at his wife), it became clear that a web
of
corrupt dealings
masterminded by Collor's campaign treasurer,
P.C. Farias
, had set up
what was effectively a parallel government. Billions of dollars had been skimmed from the
government's coffers in a scam breathtaking even by Brazilian standards.
Impeachment
proceedings were begun in Congress but few politicians expected
them to get anywhere. But then demonstrations began to take off in the big cities, led
initially by students but soon spreading to the rest of the population. In September
1992 Collor was duly impeached and
Itamar Franco
(1930-2011), the vice-president,
replaced him. Farias was jailed, dying later in mysterious circumstances - he was
allegedly murdered by a girlfriend who then committed suicide, but the full story of
his death will never be known. Collor, who probably knows more than most about
the murder, is still active in politics (he's the current federal senator for Alagoas).
Corruption charges failed and his continued liberty is eloquent testimony to the
weakness of the Brazilian legal system.
Franco, like Sarney before him, proved an ineffectual leader. The real power in his
government was the finance minister,
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
(born 1931), who
staked his claim to the succession by implementing the
Plano Real
in 1994. his finally
tamed inflation and stabilized the economy, for the first time in twenty years. A
grateful public duly gave him an overwhelming first-round victory against Lula in the
presidential election later that year.
Cardoso: stability and reform (1994-2002)
Cardoso
, a donnish ex-academic from São Paulo universally known by his initials,
FHC, proved able and effective. Ironically, before he became a politician he was one of
1994
1996
2001
Fernando Cardoso elected president;
he is re-elected in 1998 and brings
some stability to the economy with his
Plano Real
Eldorado dos Carajás massacre;
19 landless farmers shot by
police in Pará
Beloved author
Jorge Amado dies in
Salvador
