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Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello, pron. IPA: [fex'nɐ͂du a'fõsu 'kɔlɔx dʒi 'mɛlu], (born August 12, 1949) was president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992 . He was elected a Senator of the republic in the 2006 general elections and began his term in February 2007. The son of Arnon Afonso de Farias Melo and Leda Collor de Mello, Collor was born in a political family, led by his father, a journalist and former governor of Alagoas.

Early career

He became the president of Brazilian football club Centro Sportivo Alagoano (CSA) in 1976. Backed by his good looks and popularity, he entered politics, successively mayor of Alagoas' capital Maceió in 1979 (National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA)), a federal deputy (Democratic Social Party (PDS)) in 1982, and eventually governor of the state of Alagoas (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)) in 1986.

During his term as governor he attracted a lot of publicity by allegedly fighting the payment of super-salaries to public servants, whom he termed maharajas (likening them to the former princes of India who received a stipend from the government as compensation for relinquishing their lands). The efficacy of his policies in reducing public expense is disputed, but it certainly made him popular over the country . This helped boost his political career, with the help of television appearances in nationwide broadcasts (quite unusual for a governor from such a small state).

Presidency

In 1989 Collor defeated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a two round presidential race and 35 million votes. He won in the state of Sao Paulo against many prominent political figures. The first democratically elected President of Brazil in 29 years, Collor spent the early years of his government allegedly battling inflation, which at times reached rates of 25% per month.

Shortly after taking office, Collor launched the Collor Plan, implemented by his finance minister Zelia Cardoso de Mello. The Plan attempted to reduce the money supply by forcibly converting large portions of consumer bank accounts into non-cashable government bonds, while at the same time increasing the printing of money bills, a contradictory measure to combat hyper-inflation.

Collor´s initiatives: privatization, free trade and the end of hyper-inflation

Under Zélia´s tenure, Brasil had an unprecedented period of major changes, featuring "a revolution" in many levels of public administration: privatization, opening its market for a free trade for the first time in the country´s history , technological and industrial modernization, end of the hyper-inflation and public debt reduction .

In the month before Collor took power, the hyperinflation was 84% monthly and growing. All accounts over 50,000 cruzeiros (about US$1,300 at that time), were frozen for 18 months. He also proposed freezes in wages and prices, as well as major cuts in government spending. The measures were received unenthusiastically by the people, though many felt that radical measures were necessary to kill the hyper-inflation which was above 50% monthly. Within a few months, however, inflation resumed, eventually reaching rates of 25% per month. Even so, Brazil never had hyperinflation again, after Collor took office. The "confiscated" money had negative real interest rates while in the government's hands and this negative difference was indirectly used to significantly lower the Brazilian sovereign debt . Before Collor took power, in March 1990, Brazilian rates were above 200% each month.

Although Zelia acknowledges that Plano Collor didn´t end inflation, she states: "It is also possible to see with clarity that, under very difficult conditions, we promoted the equalization of the national debt --and that, together with the commercial opening, it created the bases for the implantation of Plano real" .

Collor´s neoliberal program was then followed by his successors Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Lula da Silva who maintained free trade, privatization program in large scale, and technological revolution. Among the biggest government-owned privatized are Embraer (the world´s third biggest aircraft industry), Vale do Rio Doce (the world´s second largest mining company, and the largest logistics operator in Brazil), Telebrás which benefit from this and became highly efficient powerful multinational companies .

Thus, as a result , inflation reached 50 percent per month by June 1994 and averaged 31.2 percent a month in 1994, for total of 2,294.0 percent that year. Inherited from Plano Collor, as result of Real Plan (Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Collor´s successor), inflation declined to monthly rates of between 1 and 3 percent in 1995, for an annual rate of 25.9 percent. In 1996: 16.5 percent; 1997: 7.2 percent. By 2006: 3,18% annually. .

Corruption charges and impeachment

In May 1991, Fernando Collor was accused by his brother, Pedro Collor, of corruption, by condoning an influence peddling scheme run by his campaign treasurer, Paulo César Farias. The Federal Police and Congress began an investigation soon after. Some months later, with the investigation progressing and under fire, Collor went on national television to ask for the people's support, by going out on the street and protesting against "coup" forces. On August 11, 1992, students organized by the National Student Union (União Nacional dos Estudantes - UNE), thousands of students protested on the streets against Collor. Their faces, often painted in a mixture of the colors of the flag and protest-black, lead to them being called "Caras-pintada".

On August 26, 1992, the final congressional inquiry report was released, where it was proven that Fernando Collor had personal expenses paid for by money raised by Paulo César Farias through his influence peddling scheme. Impeachment proceedings were installed in the lower house of congress on September 29, 1992. Collor was impeached, and subsequently removed from office by a vote of 441 for and 38 votes against. Fernando Collor resigned his term in office just before the Brazilian Senate was to vote for his impeachment. The Senate did so anyways and suspended his political rights for eight years.

Corruption charges lifted and Senate election

Despite of all this political process, in 2006, 14 years after his resignation and with political rights restored, Collor was elected to the Brazilian senate (44,03% votes), representing his state, Alagoas . All corruption charges against him were lifted .

References

1. O marketing político e a importância da imagem-marca em campanhas eleitorais majoritárias
2. Revista Isto é Dinheiro Template:Pt icon
4. Os efeitos da privatização sobre o desempenho econômico e financeiro das empresas privatizadas Template:Pt icon
5. Zélia está voltando Template:Pt icon
6. "Tais políticas - iniciadas com a abertura do governo Collor - foram continuadas por Fernando Henrique Cardoso e Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, segundo economistas e industriais ouvidos pela Folha"
7. Lula segue política econômica de FHC, diz diretor do FMI Template:Pt icon
8. Programa Nacional de Desestatização Template:Pt icon
9. Revista Bovespa Template:Pt icon
10. Library of Congress Country Studies Template:Pt icon
11. Inflação permanece estável e deve fechar 2006 em 3,15%, revela pesquisaTemplate:Pt icon
12. Rezende, Tatiana Matos UNE 70 Anos: "Fora Collor: o grito da juventude cara-pintada" União Nacional dos Estudantes. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
13. Lattman-Weltman, Fernando. September 29, 1992: Collor's ImpeachmentTemplate:Pt icon Fundação Getúlio Vargas. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
14. Após 14 anos de sua renúncia, Collor volta a Brasília como senador Folha Online. October 10, 2006. Retrieved on August 17, 2007
15. Fernando Collor é eleito senador por Alagoas

External links

• Official web site

• Presidents of Brazil
• Brazilian politicians
• 1949 births
• Living people
• People from Rio de Janeiro