Aécio Neves
Encyclopedia
Aécio Neves da Cunha is a Brazilian economist and politician; he was the Governor of Minas Gerais from 2003 to 2010 and is currently a member of the Brazilian Federal Senate. Born in Belo Horizonte
, on March 10, 1960, he is the youngest governor in the state's history. He began his political career working with his grandfather, Tancredo Neves
, who was elected President of Brazil
in 1985 (but who died before taking office). Aecio Neves served four terms as an elected Deputy in the Brazilian Federal Chamber of Deputies
between 1987 and 2002, representing the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB). He was the President of the Chamber of Deputies in 2001/2.
As governor, Aecio Neves introduced the "Management Shock": a set of sweeping reforms designed to bring the state budget under control by reducing government expenditure and promoting investment. The policy has been widely perceived as a success nationally and internationally and Aecio Neves has enjoyed high levels of popularity in office. Having been tipped as a potential candidate for the Brazilian Presidential elections in 2010, Neves announced his intention to stand aside from the race at the end of 2009. He ran for the Brazilian Federal Senate instead, and was elected a Senator representing the State of Minas Gerais. He took office as a Senator of the Republic on 1 February 2011.
Aécio is a columnist at Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, writing every monday.
. His maternal grandfather, Tancredo Neves
, came from a leading family in the town of São Joao del Rei
in the south of the state.
His paternal grandfather, Tristão Ferreira da Cunha, a native of Teófilo Otoni, a northern city in Minas Gerais
, was also a politician as well as a lawyer and a professor. He was Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in the state government of Juscelino Kubitschek (1951–1955).
Aécio Cunha, son of Tristão and father of Aécio, was state deputy between 1955 and 1963 and federal representative between 1963 and 1987. Despite being adversaries, Tancredo Neves (Brazilian Democratic Movement
) and his son-in-law Aécio Cunha (National Renewal Alliance Party
) were friends and shared an apartment in Brasilia
for 18 years.
. His first professional experience was as Cabinet Official of the Economic Defense Administrative Council of the Ministry of Justice in Rio de Janeiro
.
in 1982, and occupied the post of Personal Secretary of the Governor of Minas Gerais
in 1983.
In the following years, he participated in the campaign "Diretas Já
" (‘Direct [Elections] Now’), for direct elections of the president and, later, in the campaign of his grandfather for the Presidency of Republic. In 1985, Tancredo Neves
won the elections for President, obtaining 480 votes in the Electoral College. Following the election, Aécio Neves accompanied his grandfather in visits to Ronald Reagan
(United States
), François Miterrand (France
), Sandro Pertini and Bettino Craxi
(Italy
), to King Juan Carlos (Spain
) and to Pope John Paul II
(the Vatican
).
Aécio Neves was to have occupied, after the investiture of the new President, the position of Secretary of Special Subjects of the Presidency of the Republic, but Tancredo died on April 21, 1985. Aécio and all the others indicated for the Ministry resigned their positions, so that the new President, Jose Sarney
, could compose his Government.
in the Federal House of Representatives for four terms.
The encouragement of the family, especially of his grandmother, Risoleta Neves, was essential to the start of Neves' political career. The launching of his first candidacy was announced exactly a year after the death of his grandfather. In his meetings, he attracted many young people that previously had not been interested in politics. As a candidate for Federal Deputy he won the highest number of votes ever recorded in the State, with 236,019 votes in the 1986 election. He took office as a Federal Deputy on February 1, 1987.
The National Constituent Assembly was composed of all the members of the National Congress (both senators and deputies), so that, although Congress and the Assembly were different bodies (Congress when in joint session was presided by the president of the Senate; the Assembly voted for its president and chose the President of the Chamber of deputies for the role; the Assembly had different rules of procedure, was an unicameral body, and there was no distinction between senators and deputies) the membership of the two bodies was the same. Therefore, in virtue of his election as a member of Congress, Neves also became, ex officio, a member of the Constituent Assembly charged with drafting a new Constitution for the country.
Within the National Constituent Assembly, he occupied the position of Vice-President of the Commission of Sovereignty and Rights and of the Guarantees of Man and Woman (the Commission that prepared the first draft of the Constitution's bill of rights). He also presented a proposal that led to the lowering of the voting age to 16.
(PSDB) for the Presidency and was the vice-leader of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) in the Chamber of Deputies.
Fernando Collor de Mello
was elected president in 1990. Two years after the elections Collor faced a process of impeachment
and Aécio Neves voted in favor of the charges of impeachment against the president. Collor's impeachment led to the assumption of the presidency by Itamar Franco
, Collor's estranged vice-president.
During his second term, Aécio Neves stood in the elections for mayor of Belo Horizonte
, but was not elected.
He made his first major entry on the national stage when he won the contest for the leadership of the PSDB in the Chamber. He was chosen for that role by a vote of all federal deputies who were members of the party. PSDB was at the time the party of the President of the Republic, and the leading party in the coalition that supported Fernando Henrique Cardoso
's administration.
In 2001, he was elected as the President (Speaker) of the Chamber of Deputies with more votes than the sum of all the other candidates. He developed an "ethics package” which ended a member of Parliament's immunity of persecution for common crimes. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies for the 2001-2002 term.
During his service as presiding officer of the lower house of Congress, Neves was second in line in the order of succession to the Presidency of Brazil, placed immediately after the Vice-President of the Republic. He was also highly ranked in the Brazilian order of precedence
, placed after the President of the Senate and before the President of the Supreme Court.
If re-elected for a fifth federal deputy term, Neves could have sought re-election as speaker for another two years, but, when his fourth federal deputy term was at an end, he chose instead to run for Governor of his home State of Minas Gerais.
in the upcoming elections
, with vice-governor Antônio Anastasia
taking his place.
The administrative regional ministries were reduced from 21 to 15, and 43 supervisory posts and 16 control positions were abolished. Also 3,000 positions under direct appointment from the Governor were eliminated. In building his team of advisors, Aécio Neves focused on hiring competent, university-educated and technical professionals who could provide austere and rigid administration for a state that could not pay its accounts.
In November 2004, Aécio Neves announced a "zero deficit" in the state accounts. This made possible more effective public administration, with programmes directed towards all areas of the administration. Aécio Neves invited the architect Oscar Niemeyer
to design a new Administrative campus for the Government, destined to concentrate and to modernize the management of public services.
With new financial stability, Minas Gerais was - for the first time in 14 years - able to raise loans in the international market. The first loan was used for the 'Combating Rural Poverty' Project (PCPR), intended to increase income and quality of life in 180 communities with lower Human Development Indices (IDH
). The success and the efficiency of this program, from which 75,000 families benefited, qualified the state to receive more investments from the World Bank
.
With the proven success of the Management Shock policy, in August 2008 the World Bank approved a loan of US$1 billion for the state, without requiring financial guarantees. In announcing the loan, John Briscoe, Director of the World Bank in Brazil said, "The broad political and social consensus around fiscal responsibility is a big step forward for Brazil. The next big challenge is to significantly improve the quality of the high levels of public spending. During the last five years, Minas Gerais has shown how this can be done. Many other governors are looking to adopt this model.
In 2008, Governor Aécio Neves was invited to present the results of his programme for Minas Gerais
at a meeting of the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
The management of Aécio Neves in Minas Gerais has also been used as a model in other Brazilian states. The Governments of Sao Paulo
, Bahia
, Rio de Janeiro
, Rio Grande do Sul
and Mato Grosso
have adopted elements of the "Management Shock” approach.
(responsible for criminal investigations). Other actions included the hiring of nine thousand new policemen, the renovation of the fleet of vehicles, the creation of integrated police stations and the integration of the system of intelligence of the two police forces. These, combined with a public awareness programme, "Fica Vivo!" ("Stay Alive!"), designed to reduce levels of homicide, all contributed to a reduction of 60% in incidents in high risk areas of metropolitan Belo Horizonte
.
was the first in Brazil
to extend basic education from eight to nine years and the first to distribute free school text books.
.
The airport, which was opened in 1983 is located 40 km outside the city near Confins
(and is widely referred to as Confins), and for many years had been underused due to its inaccessibility from the centre. The Green Line - cominbed with an aggressive policy to force airlines to use Confins instead of the suburban Pampulha airport - has been a success in increasing the number of passengers using Confins. The Green Line also aims to improve traffic flows across large parts of the metropolitan and greater Belo Horizonte area.
, the Governor of São Paulo state.
After the announcement that he would not seek the presidency at this time, there was speculation that Neves would accept the position of Serra's running mate in PSDB's presidential ticket. That would have been a pretty strong ticket, given Neves' popularity in Minas Gerais, Brazil's second most populous state. However, Neves announced that he would not run as Serra's Vice-Presidential candidate and that he would bid instead for a Senate seat.
, and was elected. In order to run for the Senate, he had to resign as Governor of Minas Gerais (when he resigned on March 31, 2010, Neves was serving his eighth year as Governor, the last year of his second term in office, and could not seek re-election for a third term, due to consecutive term limits imposed by the Constitution). He took office as Senator, representing his home State of Minas Gerais, on 1 February 2011.
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, on March 10, 1960, he is the youngest governor in the state's history. He began his political career working with his grandfather, Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
, who was elected President of Brazil
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
in 1985 (but who died before taking office). Aecio Neves served four terms as an elected Deputy in the Brazilian Federal Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. As of 2006, the chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms...
between 1987 and 2002, representing the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB). He was the President of the Chamber of Deputies in 2001/2.
As governor, Aecio Neves introduced the "Management Shock": a set of sweeping reforms designed to bring the state budget under control by reducing government expenditure and promoting investment. The policy has been widely perceived as a success nationally and internationally and Aecio Neves has enjoyed high levels of popularity in office. Having been tipped as a potential candidate for the Brazilian Presidential elections in 2010, Neves announced his intention to stand aside from the race at the end of 2009. He ran for the Brazilian Federal Senate instead, and was elected a Senator representing the State of Minas Gerais. He took office as a Senator of the Republic on 1 February 2011.
Aécio is a columnist at Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, writing every monday.
Family background
Both Aecio Neves' father and mother come from established political families in Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
. His maternal grandfather, Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
, came from a leading family in the town of São Joao del Rei
São João del Rei
São João del-Rei also spelled São João del Rey or São João del Rei is a historical city in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.Population: 40,600 inhabitants....
in the south of the state.
His paternal grandfather, Tristão Ferreira da Cunha, a native of Teófilo Otoni, a northern city in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, was also a politician as well as a lawyer and a professor. He was Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in the state government of Juscelino Kubitschek (1951–1955).
Aécio Cunha, son of Tristão and father of Aécio, was state deputy between 1955 and 1963 and federal representative between 1963 and 1987. Despite being adversaries, Tancredo Neves (Brazilian Democratic Movement
Brazilian Democratic Movement
The Brazilian Democratic Movement was a political party in Brazil that existed from 1965 to 1979. It was formed in 1965, when the military government that overthrew President João Goulart abolished all existing political parties...
) and his son-in-law Aécio Cunha (National Renewal Alliance Party
National Renewal Alliance Party
The National Renewal Alliance Party or Aliança Renovadora Nacional was a conservative political party that existed in Brazil between 1966 and 1985...
) were friends and shared an apartment in Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
for 18 years.
Education and early career
Aecio Neves graduated in economy from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
. His first professional experience was as Cabinet Official of the Economic Defense Administrative Council of the Ministry of Justice in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
.
Secretary to Tancredo Neves
Aecio Neves took part in the campaign of his grandfather Tancredo, elected Governor of Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
in 1982, and occupied the post of Personal Secretary of the Governor of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
in 1983.
In the following years, he participated in the campaign "Diretas Já
Diretas Já
Diretas Já Now) was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil.-Participants of the movement: The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participants came from a broad spectrum of political parties, trade unions, civil,...
" (‘Direct [Elections] Now’), for direct elections of the president and, later, in the campaign of his grandfather for the Presidency of Republic. In 1985, Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
won the elections for President, obtaining 480 votes in the Electoral College. Following the election, Aécio Neves accompanied his grandfather in visits to Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
(United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), François Miterrand (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), Sandro Pertini and Bettino Craxi
Bettino Craxi
Benedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), to King Juan Carlos (Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) and to Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
(the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
).
Aécio Neves was to have occupied, after the investiture of the new President, the position of Secretary of Special Subjects of the Presidency of the Republic, but Tancredo died on April 21, 1985. Aécio and all the others indicated for the Ministry resigned their positions, so that the new President, Jose Sarney
José Sarney
José Sarney de Araújo Costa is a Brazilian lawyer, writer and politician. He served as president of Brazil from 15 March 1985 to 15 March 1990....
, could compose his Government.
Federal deputy (1987-2002)
Aécio Neves represented the state of Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
in the Federal House of Representatives for four terms.
The encouragement of the family, especially of his grandmother, Risoleta Neves, was essential to the start of Neves' political career. The launching of his first candidacy was announced exactly a year after the death of his grandfather. In his meetings, he attracted many young people that previously had not been interested in politics. As a candidate for Federal Deputy he won the highest number of votes ever recorded in the State, with 236,019 votes in the 1986 election. He took office as a Federal Deputy on February 1, 1987.
First Federal Deputy Term (1987-1990) and membership in the Constituent Assembly (1987-1988)
In his first term (1987–1990) he participated in the National Constituent Assembly (1987–1988) that determined the of the country's new Federal Constitution (promulgated on October 5, 1988) that replaced the constitutional legislation inherited from the now defunct military regime.The National Constituent Assembly was composed of all the members of the National Congress (both senators and deputies), so that, although Congress and the Assembly were different bodies (Congress when in joint session was presided by the president of the Senate; the Assembly voted for its president and chose the President of the Chamber of deputies for the role; the Assembly had different rules of procedure, was an unicameral body, and there was no distinction between senators and deputies) the membership of the two bodies was the same. Therefore, in virtue of his election as a member of Congress, Neves also became, ex officio, a member of the Constituent Assembly charged with drafting a new Constitution for the country.
Within the National Constituent Assembly, he occupied the position of Vice-President of the Commission of Sovereignty and Rights and of the Guarantees of Man and Woman (the Commission that prepared the first draft of the Constitution's bill of rights). He also presented a proposal that led to the lowering of the voting age to 16.
Second Federal Deputy Term (1990-1994)
In his second federal deputy term, Aécio Neves participated in the campaign of Mário CovasMário Covas
Mário Covas Júnior was a Brazilian politician.Covas studied engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He entered politics in his native city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo....
(PSDB) for the Presidency and was the vice-leader of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) in the Chamber of Deputies.
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his trial of impeachment by the Brazilian Senate...
was elected president in 1990. Two years after the elections Collor faced a process of impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
and Aécio Neves voted in favor of the charges of impeachment against the president. Collor's impeachment led to the assumption of the presidency by Itamar Franco
Itamar Franco
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco was a Brazilian politician and the President of Brazil from December 29, 1992, to January 1, 1995. During his long political career, Franco was also a Senator, Mayor, Ambassador, Governor and Vice President...
, Collor's estranged vice-president.
During his second term, Aécio Neves stood in the elections for mayor of Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, but was not elected.
Third federal deputy term (1994-1998) and party leadership in the Chamber of Deputies
After being elected for a third term as a federal deputy, Aécio Neves was chosen by his peers for a the position in the Federal Chaber of Deputies' directing board. In the directing board, he served as the house's third secretary. In the same year (1995), he was chosen to be the president of the PSDB in Minas Gerais.He made his first major entry on the national stage when he won the contest for the leadership of the PSDB in the Chamber. He was chosen for that role by a vote of all federal deputies who were members of the party. PSDB was at the time the party of the President of the Republic, and the leading party in the coalition that supported Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
's administration.
Fourth federal deputy term (1998-2002) and presidency of the Chamber of Deputies (2001-2002)
In 1998, he resigend the presidency of the PSDB of Minas Gerais, and stood for federal deputy for the 4th consecutive time. He won the most votes of any PSDB candidate in the country (185,050) and was the Deputy with the largest number of votes.In 2001, he was elected as the President (Speaker) of the Chamber of Deputies with more votes than the sum of all the other candidates. He developed an "ethics package” which ended a member of Parliament's immunity of persecution for common crimes. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies for the 2001-2002 term.
During his service as presiding officer of the lower house of Congress, Neves was second in line in the order of succession to the Presidency of Brazil, placed immediately after the Vice-President of the Republic. He was also highly ranked in the Brazilian order of precedence
Brazilian order of precedence
The order of precedence in Brazil is a symbolic hierarchy of officials used to direct protocol. It is regulated by Presidential Decree number 70.274 of March 9, 1972, signed by former President Emilio Medici...
, placed after the President of the Senate and before the President of the Supreme Court.
If re-elected for a fifth federal deputy term, Neves could have sought re-election as speaker for another two years, but, when his fourth federal deputy term was at an end, he chose instead to run for Governor of his home State of Minas Gerais.
Governor of Minas Gerais (2003-2010)
In 2002, Aécio Neves was elected in the first round as the Governor of the state of Minas Gerais with more than five million votes. He was re-elected in 2006 with 7,482,809 votes, 77,03% of the total. In 2005 and 2006, in research carried out by the MACROPLAN Institute, Brazilian journalists idenitfied Aécio Neves as the best governor of the country. He enjoyed a popular approval level of 77% in March 2009, according to research by the DATAFOLHA Institute (Folha de São Paulo newspaper). In 2010, Neves left the government to run for SenatorSenate of Brazil
The Federal Senate of Brazil is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, it was inspired by the United Kingdom's House of Lords, but with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 it became closer to the United States...
in the upcoming elections
Brazilian general election, 2010
The first round of the Brazilian general election of 2010 was held on Sunday, October 3, 2010. The Presidency of the Republic, all 513 Chamber of Deputies seats and 54 out of 81 Federal Senate seats were contested in this election, along with governorships and state legislatures of all 26 states...
, with vice-governor Antônio Anastasia
Antônio Anastasia
Antônio Augusto Junho Anastasia is a Brazilian lawyer and politician, the current governor of the state of Minas Gerais. Elected vice-governor of Aécio Neves in 2006, Anastasia became governor when Neves resigned to run for the Senate in March 2010...
taking his place.
Management Shock Policy
At the time of Aecio Neves' innauguration in 2003, the state government of Minas Gerais faced a growing debt of more than 200 million Brazilian reais per month. In order to do away with this situation, Neves introduced the "management shock": a set of measures intended to re-organise and modernise the state, to reduce and rationalise the costs of Government, to improve the quality of services, and to re-establish conditions for external investment. As a symbolic act to consolidate commitment to the reorganisation of the accounts of Minas Gerais, Aécio Neves reduced his salary by 45%, and asked the same of the first level members of the Government. His project generated an enormous reduction in the costs of the state.The administrative regional ministries were reduced from 21 to 15, and 43 supervisory posts and 16 control positions were abolished. Also 3,000 positions under direct appointment from the Governor were eliminated. In building his team of advisors, Aécio Neves focused on hiring competent, university-educated and technical professionals who could provide austere and rigid administration for a state that could not pay its accounts.
In November 2004, Aécio Neves announced a "zero deficit" in the state accounts. This made possible more effective public administration, with programmes directed towards all areas of the administration. Aécio Neves invited the architect Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
to design a new Administrative campus for the Government, destined to concentrate and to modernize the management of public services.
With new financial stability, Minas Gerais was - for the first time in 14 years - able to raise loans in the international market. The first loan was used for the 'Combating Rural Poverty' Project (PCPR), intended to increase income and quality of life in 180 communities with lower Human Development Indices (IDH
IDH
IDH may refer to :* Isocitrate dehydrogenase* Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis* Interactive Data Handler...
). The success and the efficiency of this program, from which 75,000 families benefited, qualified the state to receive more investments from the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
.
With the proven success of the Management Shock policy, in August 2008 the World Bank approved a loan of US$1 billion for the state, without requiring financial guarantees. In announcing the loan, John Briscoe, Director of the World Bank in Brazil said, "The broad political and social consensus around fiscal responsibility is a big step forward for Brazil. The next big challenge is to significantly improve the quality of the high levels of public spending. During the last five years, Minas Gerais has shown how this can be done. Many other governors are looking to adopt this model.
In 2008, Governor Aécio Neves was invited to present the results of his programme for Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
at a meeting of the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The management of Aécio Neves in Minas Gerais has also been used as a model in other Brazilian states. The Governments of Sao Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
and Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
have adopted elements of the "Management Shock” approach.
Policing
In 2003, Minas Gerais was the first state in the country to promote the integration of the activities of the military police (responsible for maintaining public order)and the civil policeCivil Police (Brazil)
In Brazil, the Civil Police is the name of the investigative state police forces.The Civil Police are agencies of the public administration of the federative units of Brazil, whose function is, in accordance with article 144 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, the exercise of the public security...
(responsible for criminal investigations). Other actions included the hiring of nine thousand new policemen, the renovation of the fleet of vehicles, the creation of integrated police stations and the integration of the system of intelligence of the two police forces. These, combined with a public awareness programme, "Fica Vivo!" ("Stay Alive!"), designed to reduce levels of homicide, all contributed to a reduction of 60% in incidents in high risk areas of metropolitan Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
Education
In education, the Government of Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
was the first in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to extend basic education from eight to nine years and the first to distribute free school text books.
Transport: Green Line
In 2005, the "Green line" project began: the most significant set of improvements to Belo Horizonte's road system in decades. The centrepiece of it has been the construction of a 35.4 km rapid transit system fom metropolitan Belo Horizonte to international airport Tancredo NevesTancredo Neves International Airport
Tancredo Neves International Airport , formerly called Confins International Airport, is the main airport serving Belo Horizonte, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of Confins...
.
The airport, which was opened in 1983 is located 40 km outside the city near Confins
Confins
Confins is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2006 is estimated to be 5,802 people. The area of the municipality is 42.008 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte...
(and is widely referred to as Confins), and for many years had been underused due to its inaccessibility from the centre. The Green Line - cominbed with an aggressive policy to force airlines to use Confins instead of the suburban Pampulha airport - has been a success in increasing the number of passengers using Confins. The Green Line also aims to improve traffic flows across large parts of the metropolitan and greater Belo Horizonte area.
Potential candidacy for Presidency
Aecio Neves had been widely indicated as a possible candidate for the PSDB for the 2010 presidential elections, but was ultimately forced to stand aside in favour of Jose SerraJosé Serra
José Serra is a Brazilian politician, former secretary of state, congressman, senator, minister of Planning and Minister of Health, mayor of São Paulo and Governor of São Paulo state.-Background:...
, the Governor of São Paulo state.
After the announcement that he would not seek the presidency at this time, there was speculation that Neves would accept the position of Serra's running mate in PSDB's presidential ticket. That would have been a pretty strong ticket, given Neves' popularity in Minas Gerais, Brazil's second most populous state. However, Neves announced that he would not run as Serra's Vice-Presidential candidate and that he would bid instead for a Senate seat.
Senator
Neves ran for the Federal Senate in the 2010 general electionBrazilian general election, 2010
The first round of the Brazilian general election of 2010 was held on Sunday, October 3, 2010. The Presidency of the Republic, all 513 Chamber of Deputies seats and 54 out of 81 Federal Senate seats were contested in this election, along with governorships and state legislatures of all 26 states...
, and was elected. In order to run for the Senate, he had to resign as Governor of Minas Gerais (when he resigned on March 31, 2010, Neves was serving his eighth year as Governor, the last year of his second term in office, and could not seek re-election for a third term, due to consecutive term limits imposed by the Constitution). He took office as Senator, representing his home State of Minas Gerais, on 1 February 2011.