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Collor de Mello's Presidency,
1990-92
Collor de Mello's Presidency, 1990-92
Collor created extremely high expectations that he could solve Brazil's
economic problems and that he could insert Brazil into the international
economic arena. With one "silver bullet," he promised
to rid Brazil of inflation, rampant corruption, and all marajás
(literally maharajahs, or do-nothing, corrupt high government officials
who draw huge salaries), while modernizing Brazil's economy and
society.
Collor's ambitious program began by confiscating some US$50 billion
in financial and bank assets from depositors and investors, thereby
plunging the country into recession. He set about "taking the
state apart," announcing that he would reduce the number of
federal civilian employees from nearly 1 million to 300,000. Further,
he would auction off government cars and housing in Brasília,
sell all state enterprises, and begin a program to consolidate or
eliminate the myriad of federal agencies. Collor's style of presidency
was similar to that of developed countries and included well-orchestrated
public relations campaigns and lavish entertaining.
Although he commanded a small minority bloc in Congress, Collor's
high ratings in the polls and excellent television
communication skills dissuaded many politicians from opposing his
unusual proposals in an election year. Unlike the Cruzado Plan,
which had helped Collor's election as governor of Alagoas in 1986,
his 1990 stabilization plan did not produce positive economic results
before the November 15 elections. Most of his allied gubernatorial
candidates were defeated, and his coalition remained a minority
in Congress. As inflation increased in 1991, the government began
to flounder, and the opposition was able to thwart many of his proposals.
Many of his initiatives in the international arena came to naught.
In late 1991, Collor counterattacked in a media blitz, blaming
constitutional impediments for obstructing his modernization plan
and boldly proposing a broad constitutional reform package of sixteen
amendments. However, in March 1992, as new accusations of corruption
mounted daily, Collor fired almost his entire cabinet (except for
the military
ministers and the ministers of health and education, who were not
politicians) and brought in older, more experienced politicians
who generally were considered "clean."
A month later, the president's younger brother, Pedro Collor, unleashed
his bombastic accusations regarding the modus operandi of the corruption
system, and on June 1, 1992, Congress installed the impeachment
CPI. President Collor, together with his adviser, Paulo César
Farias, and other cronies from Alagoas, had taken office with a
"dynasty" strategy in mind. As described by Pedro Collor
and other CPI witnesses, the Collor-Farias administration centralized
all corruption, demanding 40 percent kickbacks for all government
contracts and special policy decisions. With a war chest accumulating
at nearly US$2 billion a year, they apparently expected to bribe
their way into power for the next twenty years. As the 1993-94 Budgetgate
CPI revealed, this conspiracy had numerous collaborators in Congress
and the executive branch. Because the 1992 impeachment CPI threatened
to widen its inquiry, the politicians decided to sacrifice Collor
quickly to obscure their own involvement.
Data as of April 1997
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