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 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 Ga ...

in the National Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the National Congress) and ran for

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

three times. He was founder and leader of the

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: Th ...

and conservative Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order (PRONA), which was usually seen as being far-right.

Early life

Enéas was born and raised in Acre, in Brazil's far west. He lost his father at the age of nine and had to work to support his brothers and his mother. In 1958 he left Acre to begin studies in

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 ...

, graduating in physics and mathematics. In 1959 he became an auxiliary

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine ...

. In 1965 he received a medical degree from the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine, with a specialty in

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

. His academic pursuits, however, were not confined to medicine, and he has written articles on diverse subjects, including philosophy,

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

and

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

. In 1980, he received a medical degree from the Cancer Hospital of Rio de Janeiro.

Political career

In 1989 he established PRONA. In that same year he ran for the presidency in Brazil's first direct elections after the end of military rule. Under the electoral laws, every candidate was given a daily amount of free airtime to set out their agenda. As the amount of airtime was proportional to the candidate's party political size, PRONA only got roughly 15 seconds of airtime for each TV appearance. Nevertheless, he made the most of the opportunity. His exotic image – he was a small,

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 large beard and thick "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 ...

— drew attention, as did his inflamed speech. In what would become his trademark, he finished it with the catchphrase ''Meu nome é Enéas'' ("My name is Enéas") — perhaps a gesture of humility or informality, or perhaps a way to save valuable time. The previously unknown politician was placed 12th out of a field of 21 candidates. He returned in 1994, making use then of 1 minute and 17 seconds. Surprising political experts, he finished ahead of various established politicians, such as the then-governor of

(

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 ...

), the former governor of

( Orestes Quércia), and the then-governor of Santa Catarina (

Esperidião Amin Esperidião Amin Helou Filho (December 21, 1947) is a Brazilian politician. Born to a family of businessmen and politicians of Lebanese origin, he was twice elected governor of the state of Santa Catarina and twice mayor of the city of Florianó ...

), with more than 4.6 million votes. In 1998, Enéas got 35 seconds – less, in total airtime, than what he had in 1989 – to deliver a speech that was more nationalistic than ever. Its ideas, such as the construction of an atomic bomb, nationalization of Brazil's mineral resources, and increasing the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

budget, sparked controversy. According to him, with such apparatus Brazil could impose its interests in the UN and other international treatises. His project focused basically on education, believing that only a strong, interventionist and technical State would solve Brazil's problems. Although many may label him as an authoritarian, his political approach is similar to a social democracy like in Sweden and Finland for example, where the State is extremely important. In 2000 he ran for mayor of the city of

, with no success, but he still managed to gain votes for the election of his councilman candidate Havanir Nimtz. In 2002 he ran for a seat as a federal deputy, representing São Paulo, and secured the most-ever votes for that office. His party won enough votes, through the proportionality system, to elect five more deputies. Enéas also participated actively in elections for mayors and councilmen in 2004, helping to choose councilmen in some major cities, such as Rio and São Paulo, and mayors in small cities. In 2006 he was elected again as a federal deputy for São Paulo, this time with the third highest vote in the state.

Praise and criticism

Many saw Enéas as an exotic politician because of his direct criticism to Brazilians fraudulent politicians behavior. Enéas believed that by acting on TV what he called "the rage of the common citizen" would wake up Brazilian people against corrupt politicians.

Death

Enéas underwent

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

in a hospital for

myeloid leukemia Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue. Types include: * Acute myeloid leukemia * Chronic myelogenous leukemia * Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia * Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm See also * Hematological m ...

. When it became clear that his treatment was not resulting in improvements, he decided to return home, where he remained until his death. Enéas died on May 6, 2007, at approximately 2 pm, in the

Laranjeiras Laranjeiras (, ''orange trees'') is an upper-middle-class neighborhood located in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Primarily residential, It is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, having been founded in the 17th century, with th ...

neighborhood of southern Rio de Janeiro. His remains were cremated and his ashes scattered over the Bay of Guanabara. After his death, on May 8, 2007, Enéas was honored in a rally against abortion in

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, on May 8, 2007. According to the Party of the Republic, the politician was one of the organizers of the event. In 2017, the future President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro proposed a bill to include Enéas' name in the Book of National Heroes.

References

External links

Learn more about Enéas' life
in the

Chamber of Deputies of Brazil 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 ...

official website (in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carneiro, Eneas Brazilian anti-communists Brazilian nationalists Brazilian cardiologists Deaths from myeloid leukemia Deaths from cancer in Rio de Janeiro (state) 1938 births 2007 deaths Conservatism in Brazil People from Rio Branco, Acre Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order politicians Candidates for President of Brazil Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo Far-right politics in Brazil