Brazilian presidential election, 1989
Encyclopedia
The Brazil
ian presidential election of 1989 was the first direct presidential election in Brazil since 1960.
won the election for president on the electoral college
, represented by Deputies and Senators, putting an end to the 21-year-old military dictatorship. However, Neves died and José Sarney
, the Vice-President-elect, took office. Sarney was seen with suspicion by the civilian population, since he had been a member of the military regime's official party. There were some questioning of the legitimacy of Sarney appointment, once Neves had died as President-elect without ever taking office. The support of General Leônidas Pires Gonçalves, appointed by Neves as Minister of the Army, was decisive for Sarney taking office, drawing even more suspicion.
Nevertheless, as promised by Neves, Sarney's government was responsible for the gradual redemocratization of the country. In 1986, he called an election to form the National Constituent Assembly
, which promulgated a new Constitution on November 5, 1988. The new document claimed for direct elections for President, Governors and Deputies in the following year. Also during Sarney's term as president, formerly clandestine parties such as the Brazilian Communist Party
and the Brazilian Socialist Party
were legalized. Sarney also established the Mercosul. Aside from considerable progress towards democracy, Sarney's government is remembered for employing old members of the regime. Actress and Deputy Bete Mendes claimed that one of her torturers from the DOI-CODI
, Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, was a military attaché in the Brazilian Embassy in Uruguay
at the time .
votes), a second round was held, as mandated by the new electoral law. The first round took place on November 15, 1989, the same date of the Brazilian Republic's 100th anniversary. The second round was held on December 17 of the same year, disputed by the two candidates with higher number of votes in the first round: Fernando Collor de Mello
of the now-defunct National Reconstruction Party
and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
of the Workers' Party
.
The level of enthusiasm in Lula's campaign was huge, with several artists participating in the music video
for the famous jingle "Lula Lá", aired during his free television canvass which became a classic tune of Brazilian politics. Other artists, like actress Marília Pêra
, preferred to support Collor and sustain his fear speech, stating that they feared what could happen in Brazil if Lula was victorious. Those artists were later heavily criticised during Collor's impeachment
process.
aired a debate between the remaining candidates. In the broadcast of Jornal Nacional
on the following day, Globo aired an edited version of the debate apparently highlighting Collor's best moments and Lula's worst ones. This broadcast was seen as a biased coverage of Globo in favor of Collor, of whom Roberto Marinho
was a friend. This event was explored on Channel 4
's documentary
Beyond Citizen Kane
.
Many people attribute Collor's victory to this particular event, although other facts may have influenced voters, such as an article at Jornal do Brasil
accusing Lula of having a bastard daughter. Later, Collor's campaign contacted Lula's ex-girlfriend and mother of the child in question to reveal that Lula asked her to perform an abortion
. Others, however, defend that Lula was inexperienced and naïve with politics.
In most States, Collor got the most votes. Lula, however, was the leading candidate in the Federal District, and Brizola won the most votes in Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
Lula had the biggest share of the vote in each of the States of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, along with the Federal District; Collor won the most votes in each of the other States.
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...
ian presidential election of 1989 was the first direct presidential election in Brazil since 1960.
Historical context
On January 15, 1985, Tancredo NevesTancredo 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 election for president on the electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
, represented by Deputies and Senators, putting an end to the 21-year-old military dictatorship. However, Neves died and José 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....
, the Vice-President-elect, took office. Sarney was seen with suspicion by the civilian population, since he had been a member of the military regime's official party. There were some questioning of the legitimacy of Sarney appointment, once Neves had died as President-elect without ever taking office. The support of General Leônidas Pires Gonçalves, appointed by Neves as Minister of the Army, was decisive for Sarney taking office, drawing even more suspicion.
Nevertheless, as promised by Neves, Sarney's government was responsible for the gradual redemocratization of the country. In 1986, he called an election to form the National Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
, which promulgated a new Constitution on November 5, 1988. The new document claimed for direct elections for President, Governors and Deputies in the following year. Also during Sarney's term as president, formerly clandestine parties such as the Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party is the oldest political party still active in Brazil, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties with a Stalinist orientation...
and the Brazilian Socialist Party
Brazilian Socialist Party
The Brazilian Socialist Party , is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organized in 1985 with the re-democratization of Brazil. It elected six Governors in 2010, becoming the second largest party in number of state...
were legalized. Sarney also established the Mercosul. Aside from considerable progress towards democracy, Sarney's government is remembered for employing old members of the regime. Actress and Deputy Bete Mendes claimed that one of her torturers from the DOI-CODI
DOI-CODI
The Destacamento de Operações de Informações - Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna was the Brazilian intelligence and repression agency during the military government . This period started on March 31, 1964 with the removal of the civilian government by military forces and ended in the 1984....
, Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, was a military attaché in the Brazilian Embassy in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
at the time .
The election
The 1989 elections were the first in almost 30 years in which eligible Brazilian citizens were able to directly vote for President. The political parties were relatively new and, therefore, not campaign actively and mobilise the population. Twenty-two presidential candidatures were launched, establishing a record number of candidates in a single presidential election in Brazil. Since no candidate managed to obtain the majority of valid votes (excluding blank and voidSpoilt vote
'Bold text'In voting, a ballot is considered to be spoilt, spoiled, void, null, informal or stray if it is regarded by the election authorities to be invalid and thus not included in the tally during vote counting. This may be done accidentally or deliberately...
votes), a second round was held, as mandated by the new electoral law. The first round took place on November 15, 1989, the same date of the Brazilian Republic's 100th anniversary. The second round was held on December 17 of the same year, disputed by the two candidates with higher number of votes in the first round: 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...
of the now-defunct National Reconstruction Party
Christian Labour Party
The Christian Labour Party is a christian-conservative political party in Brazil.The party was founded in 1985 as Youth Party by Daniel Tourinho, a brazilian lawyer...
and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
of the Workers' Party
Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by a number of political parties throughout the world. While the name has been used by both left-wing and right-wing organizations, it is currently used by left-wing followers of Communism, Maoism, Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, Social Democracy, Socialism and...
.
The level of enthusiasm in Lula's campaign was huge, with several artists participating in the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the famous jingle "Lula Lá", aired during his free television canvass which became a classic tune of Brazilian politics. Other artists, like actress Marília Pêra
Marília Pêra
Marília Pêra is an award-winning Brazilian actress.-Biography:Pêra was born to actors Manuel Pêra and Dinorah Marzullo. Her sister is also an accomplished actress Sandra Pêra...
, preferred to support Collor and sustain his fear speech, stating that they feared what could happen in Brazil if Lula was victorious. Those artists were later heavily criticised during Collor's 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....
process.
Accusation of biased coverage
During the second round, Rede GloboRede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
aired a debate between the remaining candidates. In the broadcast of Jornal Nacional
Jornal Nacional
Jornal Nacional is a Brazilian news program aired by Rede Globo since September 1, 1969. It was the first news program broadcast live by a television network throughout Brazil.-History:...
on the following day, Globo aired an edited version of the debate apparently highlighting Collor's best moments and Lula's worst ones. This broadcast was seen as a biased coverage of Globo in favor of Collor, of whom Roberto Marinho
Roberto Marinho
Roberto Pisani Marinho was the president and founder of the biggest Brazilian TV channel, Globo, a television network with 113 stations and associates...
was a friend. This event was explored on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Beyond Citizen Kane
Beyond Citizen Kane
Beyond Citizen Kane is a British documentary film directed by Simon Hartog, produced by John Ellis, and broadcast on Channel 4.It details the dominant position of the Rede Globo media group in the Brazilian society, discussing the group's influence, power, and political connections...
.
Many people attribute Collor's victory to this particular event, although other facts may have influenced voters, such as an article at Jornal do Brasil
Jornal do Brasil
Jornal do Brasil, widely known as JB, is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest existent Brazilian paper, after the Diário de Pernambuco and O Estado de São Paulo....
accusing Lula of having a bastard daughter. Later, Collor's campaign contacted Lula's ex-girlfriend and mother of the child in question to reveal that Lula asked her to perform an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. Others, however, defend that Lula was inexperienced and naïve with politics.
First round
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... (PRN, PSC, PTR, PST) |
22.611.011 | 28,52 | ||
| Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as... (PT, PSB, PC do B) |
11.622.673 | 16,08 | ||
| Leonel Brizola Leonel Brizola Leonel de Moura Brizola was a Brazilian politician. Launched in politics by Getúlio Vargas, Brizola was the only politician to serve as governor of two different states in the whole history of Brazil. In 1959 he was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 1982 and 1990 he was elected... (PDT) |
11.168.228 | 15,45 | ||
| Mário Covas Mário 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) |
7.790.392 | 10,78 | ||
| Paulo Salim Maluf (PDS) | 5.986.575 | 8,28 | ||
| Guilherme Afif Domingos (PL Partido Liberal Partido Liberal may refer to:* Liberal Party * Liberal Party * Liberal Party * Liberal Party * Liberal Party * Liberal Party * Liberal Party * Liberal Party... , PDC) |
3.272.462 | 4,53 | ||
| Ulysses Guimarães (PMDB) | 3.204.932 | 4,43 | ||
| Roberto Freire Roberto Freire Roberto João Pereira Freire is a Brazilian politician. He is president of the Socialist People's Party and federal deputy from Pernambuco.-References:... (PCB Partido Comunista Brasileiro Partido Comunista Brasileiro can refer to:* Brazilian Communist Party* Brazilian Communist Party... ) |
769.123 | 1,06 | ||
| Aureliano Chaves Aureliano Chaves Aureliano Chaves was a Brazilian politician.Born in Três Pontas, state of Minas Gerais, he was a Representative of this state in the Chamber of Deputies in 1967 from the ARENA party. He was selected as the governor of Minas Gerais state from 1975 to 1978 and was elected vice-president in 1979... (PFL) |
600.838 | 0,83 | ||
| Ronaldo Caiado (PSD Partido Social Democrático Partido Social Democrático may refer to:* Social Democratic Party * Social Democratic Party... , PDN) |
488.846 | 0,68 | ||
| Affonso Camargo Neto (PTB) | 379.286 | 0,52 | ||
| Enéas Ferreira Carneiro (PRONA) | 360.561 | 0,50 | ||
| José Alcides Marronzinho de Oliveira (PSP) | 238.425 | 0,33 | ||
| Paulo Gontijo (PP) | 198.719 | 0,27 | ||
| Zamir José Teixeira (PCN) | 187.155 | 0,26 | ||
| Lívia Maria de Abreu (PN) | 179.922 | 0,25 | ||
| Eudes Oliveira Mattar (PLP) | 162.350 | 0,22 | ||
| Fernando Gabeira Fernando Gabeira Fernando Paulo Nagle Gabeira is a Brazilian politician, author and journalist. He has been a federal deputy for the State of Rio de Janeiro since 1995.... (PV) |
125.842 | 0,17 | ||
| Celso Brant (PMN) | 109.909 | 0,15 | ||
| Antônio dos Santos Pedreira (PPB) | 86.114 | 0,12 | ||
| Manoel de Oliveira Horta (PDC do B) | 83.286 | 0,12 | ||
| Armando Corrêa da Silva (PMB) | 4.363 | 0,01 | ||
| Silvio Santos Silvio Santos -External links:*... (PMB) |
0† | 0,00† | ||
| Blank | 1.176.413 | 1,6 | ||
| Void | 3.473.484 | 4,4 | ||
| Total | 74.280.909ª | 100 | ||
| Information: † : candidature contested by the Electoral Justice.ª : People able to vote = 82.074.718 (Abstention = 7.793.809) . |
||||
In most States, Collor got the most votes. Lula, however, was the leading candidate in the Federal District, and Brizola won the most votes in Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
Second round
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Collor de Mello (PRN, PSC, PTR, PST) | 35.089.998 | 49,94 | ||
| Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT, PSB, PC do B) | 31.076.364 | 44,23 | ||
| Blank | 986.446 | 1,40 | ||
| Void | 3.107.893 | 4,42 | ||
| Total | 70.260.701ª | 100 | ||
| ª: Abstention = 11.814.017. | ||||
Lula had the biggest share of the vote in each of the States of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, along with the Federal District; Collor won the most votes in each of the other States.
External links
- "The Presidential Election of 1989" by U.S. Library of Congress
- "Electoral Geography 2.0 - Brazilian Presidential Election 1989" (votes by state)
- "Brazil 1989 Presidential Election"