Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello President of Brazil from 1990 to 1992 Country: Brazil

1. Biography of Fernando Collor de Mello
2. Early Life and Political Career
3. Presidency and Economic Reforms
4. Impeachment and Later Political Career

Biography of Fernando Collor de Mello

Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the President of Brazil from 1990 to 1992. He resigned from office after the parliament decided to impeach him. Prior to his presidency, he served as the Governor of the state of Alagoas from 1987 to 1989. In 2006, he was elected as a Senator in Brazil and began his term in February 2007.

Early Life and Political Career

Fernando Collor de Mello came from a family of politicians. His father, Arnon Affonso de Farias Mello, was a journalist and former governor of the state of Alagoas, while his mother was the daughter of a former labor minister. Collor de Mello became the president of the football club CSA in Alagoas in 1976 before entering politics. In 1979, he was elected as the mayor of Maceió, the capital city of Alagoas, representing the National Reconstruction Union party. In 1986, he was elected as the governor of Alagoas.

As the governor, Collor de Mello gained national fame for his populist policies, particularly his pledge to tackle high salaries of government officials. His campaign, aired on national television, brought attention to him despite being the governor of a relatively small state like Alagoas. In the 1989 presidential elections, Collor de Mello ran as a candidate of the National Reconstruction Party and defeated his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the second round with 35 million votes. He became the first democratically elected president of Brazil in 29 years.

Presidency and Economic Reforms

Upon taking office, Collor de Mello announced the implementation of the Collor Plan, which aimed to transfer significant funds from bank accounts into government funds and remove them from circulation. At the same time, the government planned to increase the circulation of cash. The plan, devised by his finance minister Zélia Cardoso de Mello, faced public resistance but managed to reduce inflation from 80% per month to 25% per month within a few months.

During his presidency, Collor de Mello also signed a treaty that led Brazil to join Mercosur, a regional organization for cooperation among five South American countries. However, his government faced a deep political crisis by 1991 due to corruption allegations, which hindered the effective implementation of economic reforms. In May 1991, his brother Pedro Collor accused him on national television of favoritism in implementing the reforms. The Congress and Federal Police launched an investigation.

Impeachment and Later Political Career

On August 11, 1992, large-scale student protests against Collor de Mello took place. A Congress report confirming the corruption allegations was published on August 26, and on September 29, the lower house of Congress initiated the impeachment process. With 441 votes in favor and 38 against, Collor de Mello was removed from office. On December 29, 1992, just before the Senate vote, he resigned. Although he was acquitted of corruption charges by the Supreme Court in 1994 due to a technicality, he was banned from engaging in political activities for eight years.

In 2000, Collor de Mello attempted to run for mayor of São Paulo, but his candidacy was disqualified due to a court decision. In 2002, he ran for governor of Alagoas but lost to the incumbent governor, Ronaldo Lessa. Finally, in 2006, he was elected as a Senator from the state of Alagoas, receiving 44% of the votes and defeating Lessa.

In the 2010 gubernatorial elections in Alagoas, Collor de Mello received 28.8% of the votes and finished third, failing to advance to the second round.