General elections were held in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on October 3, 1994, the second to take place under the provisions of the
1988 constitution and the second direct presidential election since
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
.
Elected in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, President
Fernando Collor
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...
of the centre-right
National Reconstruction Party
Act ( pt, Agir), formerly named National Reconstruction Party ( pt, Partido da Reconstrução Nacional; PRN) and Christian Labour Party ( pt, Partido Trabalhista Cristão; PTC), is a political party in Brazil.
The party was founded in 1985 as t ...
(PRN) had resigned in the face of an impeachment trial, resulting in
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Itamar Franco
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (; 28 June 19302 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 33rd president of Brazil from 29 December 1992 to 31 December 1994. Previously, he was the 21st vice president of Brazil from 1990 until the ...
succeeding him.
Facing a fiscal crisis Franco's government launched the
Plano Real
The Plano Real ("Real Plan",The word ''real'' in Portuguese could be translated either to ''real'' or ''royal'' in English. The name of the plan comes from the name of the currency which was chosen to give the idea of a stable and credible purc ...
("
Real
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010)
...
Plan") to stabilize the national economy. The architect of the policy,
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002. He was the first Brazi ...
,
[Almanaque Abril, 28ª ed, 1995][SAYAD, João. Observações sobre o Plano Real. Est. Econ. São Paulo. Vol. 25, Nº Especial, págs. 7-24, 1995-6] was chosen by the PSDB to serve as their presidential candidate in Franco's absence. For the position of Vice President, Cardoso selected former presidential
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
Marco Maciel
Marco Antônio de Oliveira Maciel (21 July 1940 – 12 June 2021) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and law school professor who served as the 22nd vice president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002, twice elected on the same ti ...
of the
Liberal Front Party
The Democrats ( pt, Democratas, DEM) was a centre-right political party in Brazil that merged with the Social Liberal Party to found the Brazil Union in 2021. It was founded in 1985 under the name of Liberal Front Party (''Partido da Frente Libe ...
(PFL).
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
, a former
labor leader
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
and
federal deputy
The Chamber of Deputies ( pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year t ...
for
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
who had narrowly lost the 1989 presidential election, resigned as president of the
Workers' Party (PT) to mount a second presidential candidacy. Lula intended to make
José Paulo Bisol of the
Brazilian Socialist Party
The Brazilian Socialist Party ( pt-BR, Partido Socialista Brasileiro, PSB) is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organised in 1989 after the re-democratisation of Bra ...
(PSB) his running mate as he had in 1989. Bisol was replaced by Lula ally and fellow PT member
Aloizio Mercadante on the ticket. In the spring of 1994, Lula appeared an overwhelming favorite over Cardoso, leading with 40% to Cardoso's 12% in an April poll, and by a 41% to 17% margin as of May.
The Real Plan proved popular among Lula's own voters, with 70% of Lula supporters indicating their support for the Franco Administration's signature policy, and Lula was damaged by his opposition to the program.
On election day, Cardoso won by a wide margin and absolute majority, negating the need for a second round. Cardoso notably won every state in the
northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
, a region which would later emerge as the PT's political base. The relative success of
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
candidate
Enéas Carneiro
Enéas Ferreira Carneiro (, , ; November 5, 1938 – May 6, 2007) was a Brazilian polymath, cardiologist, physicist, mathematician, professor, writer, military serviceman and politician. He represented the state of São Paulo in the National Ch ...
, a cardiologist who had never won office before and ran as a member of the
Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order
The Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order (Portuguese: ''Partido de Reedificação da Ordem Nacional'', PRONA) was a nationalist political party in Brazil. Its electoral code was 56 and its colors were the traditional Brazilian green ...
(PRONA), was also noted; Carneiro won over 7% of the vote, placing him ahead of many established politicians. Carneiro's vote share was the highest received by a far-right presidential candidate until
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
's victory in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
.
Background
In
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, Brazil held its first direct presidential election since
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
following the end of the
military dictatorship in Brazil
The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dicta ...
.
Fernando Collor
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...
, a young, charismatic leader who had previous served as
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...
, won a hotly contested election versus
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
after positioning himself as a political outsider.
Just over two years into his presidency, Collor was faced with allegations of corruption by his brother
Pedro Collor, and chose to resign in late 1992 in the face of an impeachment trial.
Following his resignation,
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Itamar Franco
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (; 28 June 19302 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 33rd president of Brazil from 29 December 1992 to 31 December 1994. Previously, he was the 21st vice president of Brazil from 1990 until the ...
succeeded him in the office.
Once in office, Franco switched from the
National Reconstruction Party
Act ( pt, Agir), formerly named National Reconstruction Party ( pt, Partido da Reconstrução Nacional; PRN) and Christian Labour Party ( pt, Partido Trabalhista Cristão; PTC), is a political party in Brazil.
The party was founded in 1985 as t ...
(PRN) to the
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party
The Brazilian Democratic Movement ( pt, Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, ...
(PMDB).
Facing a hyperinflation crisis and popular discontent, Franco's government pushed a fiscal policy known as the
Plano Real
The Plano Real ("Real Plan",The word ''real'' in Portuguese could be translated either to ''real'' or ''royal'' in English. The name of the plan comes from the name of the currency which was chosen to give the idea of a stable and credible purc ...
(
Real
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010)
...
Plan) to stabilize the economy.
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002. He was the first Brazi ...
, an experienced politician who had previously served as
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
and as Franco's
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
, served as the architect of the plan.
Franco was barred from running for a full term in 1994. In Brazil, whenever a vice president serves part of a president's term, even when the president travels abroad, it counts as a full term. At the time, the Constitution did not allow a president to run for immediate reelection. In the absence of Franco, Cardoso would be chosen by the
PSDB
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party ( pt, Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a political party in Brazil. As the third largest par ...
(a party born from inside the PMDB) as their nominee for President of Brazil in the 1994 election.
Lula's running mate controversy
As he had in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, Lula intended for
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
José Paulo Bisol of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
, a member of the
Brazilian Socialist Party
The Brazilian Socialist Party ( pt-BR, Partido Socialista Brasileiro, PSB) is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organised in 1989 after the re-democratisation of Bra ...
(PSB), to serve as his vice presidential running mate. A former judge, Bisol had a strong reputation as an opponent of corruption, playing a key role in the investigation that ultimately led to President
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Coll ...
's resignation. Additionally, his membership of a party that played a crucial role in the centre-left coalition made his selection attractive to Lula. Bisol's image as a "Mr. Clean" was harmed during campaign season by revelations of wrongdoing as a judge in 1981.
The saga proved damaging to Lula's campaign, and as a result the leadership of the PT looked for a replacement for Bisol on the ticket. Arguing that Bisol should be replaced on the ticket by a fellow member of the PSB, PSB president
Miguel Arraes pushed for the selection of
Célio de Castro
Célio de Castro (July 11, 1932 Carmópolis de Minas - July 20, 2008 Belo Horizonte) was a Brazilian politician, professor and doctor. He served as the Mayor of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, from January 1, 1997 unt ...
, then serving as Vice Mayor of
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
, to replace Bisol as Lula's running mate. Key power-players in the PT, such as party president
Rui Falcão
Rui Goethe da Costa Falcão (; born 26 November 1943, in Pitangui) is a Brazilian politician, former president of the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores) and current Federal Deputy representing the state of São Paulo. He also served as t ...
, successfully convinced Lula to replace Bisol with
Aloízio Mercadante
Aloízio Mercadante Oliva (born 13 May 1954 in Santos, São Paulo) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the Chief of Staff of Brazil between 2014 and 2015. He was a founder of the Workers' Party in February 1980 and vice-chair ...
. A co-founder of the PT, Mercadante was then serving as a
federal deputy
The Chamber of Deputies ( pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year t ...
for
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
. Mercadante's background as a career economist during a
hyperinflation crisis was seen as a plus for PT party leadership.
Campaign of Enéas Carneiro
In the
1989 presidential election, the right-wing nationalist campaign of
Enéas Carneiro
Enéas Ferreira Carneiro (, , ; November 5, 1938 – May 6, 2007) was a Brazilian polymath, cardiologist, physicist, mathematician, professor, writer, military serviceman and politician. He represented the state of São Paulo in the National Ch ...
received attention for Carneiro's exotic image. A short,
bald
Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarrin ...
man with a long beard and distinct "coke-bottle"
glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...
, Carneiro's unusual appearance and signature catchphrase ''Meu nome é Enéas'' ("My name is Enéas") gained the cardiologist a following. Nonetheless, Carneiro, who ran as a member of the
Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order
The Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order (Portuguese: ''Partido de Reedificação da Ordem Nacional'', PRONA) was a nationalist political party in Brazil. Its electoral code was 56 and its colors were the traditional Brazilian green ...
(PRONA), came 12th in a field of 21 candidates.
In 1994, Carneiro mounted a second bid for the presidency. The entrance of
federal deputy
The Chamber of Deputies ( pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year t ...
Regina Gordilho of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, who had been elected as a member of the
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
Democratic Labour Party, allowed his campaign to receive more guaranteed election time. For the position of
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
, Carneiro chose
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Roberto Gama e Silva to serve as his running mate.
Considered a
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and accused by opponents of being a member of the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
, Carneiro's unexpected third-place finish with over 7% of the national vote was considered a shocking result. Carneiro, who had never been elected to office, received a larger share of the vote than longtime staple of the Brazilian Left
Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola (22 January 1922 – 21 June 2004) was a Brazilian politician. Launched into politics by Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas in the 1930–1950s, Brizola was the only politician to serve as elected governor of two Brazi ...
, who had been a top candidate for the presidency four years prior.
Candidates
Candidacies denied
Results
President
Chamber of Deputies
Senate
Notes
References
{{Brazilian elections
General elections in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
October 1994 events in South America
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results