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José Sarney

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In thisPortuguese name,the first or maternalfamily nameisFerreiraand the second or paternal family name isAraújo Costa.
His Excellency
José Sarney
Official portrait, 1985
President of Brazil
In office
15 March 1985 – 15 March 1990
Acting to 21 March 1985
Vice PresidentNone
Preceded byJoão Figueiredo
Succeeded byFernando Collor de Mello
Vice President of Brazil
In office
15 March 1985 – 21 April 1985
PresidentTancredo Neves[a]
Preceded byAureliano Chaves
Succeeded byItamar Franco
Further offices held
President of the Federal Senate
In office
2 February 2009 – 1 February 2013
Preceded byGaribaldi Alves Filho
Succeeded byRenan Calheiros
In office
1 February 2003 – 14 February 2005
Preceded byRamez Tebet
Succeeded byRenan Calheiros
In office
2 February 1995 – 4 February 1997
Preceded byHumberto Lucena
Succeeded byAntônio Carlos Magalhães
SenatorforAmapá
In office
1 February 1991 – 1 February 2015
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byDavi Alcolumbre
SenatorforMaranhão
In office
1 February 1971 – 15 March 1985
Preceded byVitorino de Brito Freire
Succeeded byAmérico de Souza
Governor of Maranhão
In office
31 January 1966 – 14 May 1970
Vice GovernorAntônio Dino
Preceded byNewton Bello
Succeeded byAntônio Dino
Member of theChamber of Deputies
In office
6 June 1955 – 31 January 1966
ConstituencyMaranhão
Personal details
Born
José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa

(1930-04-24)24 April 1930(age 94)
Pinheiro,Maranhão,Brazil
Political partyPMDB(1985–present)
Other political
affiliations
Other parties
Spouse
​
(m.1952)​
ChildrenRoseana,Fernando,José
Alma materFederal University of Maranhão(UFMA)
Signature

José Sarney de Araújo Costa(Portuguese pronunciation:[ʒuˈzɛsaʁˈnejdʒiaɾaˈuʒuˈkɔstɐ];bornJosé Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa;24 April 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and writer who served as 31stpresident of Brazilfrom 1985 to 1990.[2]He briefly served as the 20thvice president of Brazilfor a month between March and April 1985.

Sarney was a member of theChamber of Deputiesfrom 1955 until 1966 and of theSenatefrom 1971 until 1985. He was also theGovernor of Maranhãofrom 1966 until 1970. During theBrazilian military dictatorship,Sarney affiliated himself with the government party,ARENA,becoming the president of the party in 1979. Sarney joined the dissenters, and was instrumental in the creation of theLiberal Front Party.

Sarney ran for Vice-President on the ticket ofTancredo NevesofPMDB,formerly the opposition party to the military government. Neves won the presidential election, but fell ill and died before taking office, and Sarney became President. He started out his term with great popularity, but public opinion shifted with the Brazilian debt crisis and the failure of Plano Cruzado to abatechronic inflation.His government is seen today as disastrous and clientelism was widespread having longlasting consequences for the Brazilian Republic post military dictatorship.[3]

Following his presidency, Sarney resumed his senate career elected again in 1991 and serving until 2015. He also held the position ofPresident of the Federal Senatethree times following his presidency. At age94, he is the oldest living former Brazilian president, and at the time of his retirement in 2015, had one of the longest congressional careers in Brazilian history.[4]

Early life

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Born inPinheiro, Maranhão,as José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa, he was the son of Sarney de Araújo Costa, a wealthy land-owner and sugarcane producer, and Kiola Ferreira.[5]His family has origins inViseuin Portugal.[6]He attended Colégio Marista and the Licéu Maranhense before attending theFederal University of Maranhão.[7]In 1953, he graduated from the federal university receiving his bachelor's degree in law.[7]After his graduation, he launched a postmodernist literary journal titledA Ilha.[7]

In 1965 he legally adopted the name José Sarney de Araújo Costa, usually shortened to José Sarney, for electoral purposes.[8][7]He was known as "Zé do Sarney", as in "José, son of Sarney".[8][7]Sarney's father acquired the name after being born on a land owned by an Englishman named "Sir Ney".[7]

Political career

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Early activities

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Sarney started his political career in the 1950s after becoming a replacement deputy and later as a federal deputy in 1955.[7][9]He was a member of the centre-rightNational Democratic Union(União Democrática Nacional—UDN), aligned with the progressive wing of the party.[9]He strongly supported so-called "Revolution of 1964", a military coup that overthrew leftist PresidentJoão Goulartin 1964.[9][7]After the military coup, Sarney followed most of the UDN into theNational Renewal Alliance(ARENA), the political party of the military government.[10]He was elected governor of the state ofMaranhãoin 1966, serving until 1971.[10]He was then elected to theBrazilian Senateand became ARENA's president.[10]

Vice presidency

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Despite his support for the government's heavy-handed measures against dissent, Sarney had never been quite accepted by the military establishment, which tried to block his career.[11]In 1979 ARENA reorganized as theDemocratic Social Party(PDS), and Sarney remained the party's president.[12]In 1984, the junta was under pressure due to popular protests to reinstate direct elections for president (Diretas Jámovement).[12]PDS was divided but launchedPaulo Malufas its candidate for the presidency in indirect elections.[13]

Sarney disagreed with this decision and left PDS to form theLiberal Front Party,which then allied with the PMDB.[14]As part of the deal, Sarney becameTancredo Neves' running mate on the opposition ticket.[1]Neves won theelection of 15 January 1985,but became gravely ill the night before his inauguration.[1]Sarney assumed office as vice-president and acting president until Neves died on 21 April, and he formally became the first civilian president in 21 years.[1][15]

Presidency

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Main article:Presidency of Sarney

His succession raised some question because as Neves could not attend the inauguration ceremony on 15 March, several politicians contended at the time that Sarney should not have been inaugurated as vice-president and allowed to become acting president.[1]They believed that Sarney had been elected vice-president only by virtue of the election of his running mate as president.[1][16]Each member of the Electoral College cast one vote, for president, and the choice of president carried with it the automatic selection of the ticket's running mate as vice-president, Sarney could take office only as vice-president together with Neves.[1][16]Some critics argued that in the event of the head of the presidential ticket not being able to assume office, the presidential powers and duties should pass to the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies,Ulysses Guimarães.[9][16]

Sarney takes theoath of officeas Vice President of Brazil on 15 March 1985, immediately becoming Acting President
President Sarney with U.S. PresidentRonald ReaganandPeléduring a state dinner at theWhite House,1986

There was some partisanship in this line of thought since both Neves and Guimarães were members of the same party, and Sarney was not.[9]He had been a supporter of the military, and only recently had joined the coalition to defeat the military's candidate in the electoral college.[9]The challenge to Sarney's inauguration was short-lived, however, because in the early hours of inauguration day, Guimarães himself stated that he believed that Sarney had the right to be inaugurated even without Neves, as the role of the vice-president was precisely that of replacing the president when needed.[16]

Sarney and the president ofArgentina,Raúl Alfonsín,started the process of creating acommon marketbetween the two nations in 1985.[17]As first steps, they agreed to subsidize regional trade with a special currency for the purpose (theGaucho).[18]The agreement led to the formation of theMercosurin 1991.[19]He also oversaw constitutional amendments that purged the remaining vestiges of authoritarianism from the 1967/1969 Constitution.[3]

Sarney faced many problems: enormousforeign debt,rampant inflation and corruption as well as the transition to democracy.[3][7]During his presidency, the country had a 934% inflation rate and was overshadowed with union strikes and corruption scandals.[7]Sarney launched an economic plan to stabilize the economy, called "Plano Cruzado", successful at first.[20]The inflation worsened however under Sarney's Plano Cruzado.[20]A new, fully democratic constitution was promulgated in 1988, and in the following year,the first direct elections since 1960were held.[3][7]Sarney was barred from running for president in his own right in that election.[3]In Brazil, whenever the vice president ascends as president, it counts as a full term. At the time, Brazilian presidents were barred from immediate re-election.

Post-presidency

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Sarney in March 2020

Sarney supportedFernando Henrique Cardosoas presidential candidate in 1994 and 1998 andLuiz Inácio Lula da Silvain 2002.[21][22]He returned to the Senate after his presidency, this time representingAmapá,and served as President of the Senate from 1995 to 1997, 2003 to 2005, 2009 to 2011, and 2011 to 2013.[23]He retired from politics in 2015 and was the longest-serving member of theBrazilian Congressat the time of his retirement.[4]His retirement was noted byThe New York Timesas a "decline of a political dynasty" which would cause a political shift in the country.[4]All told, he spent all but 23 months in elected office from his first election as deputy in 1955 until his retirement from the Senate in 2015.

Sarney is regarded as the foremost of Brazil'soligarchs.[4]Sarney owns the most important newspapers and television stations in Maranhão.[24]Sarney has also faced multiple allegations ofnepotismand corruption in his career.[25]In 2009, the British weeklyThe Economistcalled his election asPresident of the Senate"a victory for semi-feudalism"and" a throwback to an era of semi-feudal politics that still prevails in corners of Brazil and holds the rest of it back. "[26]Vejacolumnist Roberto Pompeu de Toledo deemed him "the perfectoligarch".[27]

Sérgio Machado, former president ofTranspetro,said in his plea agreement within theOperation Car Washthat Sarney received R$18.5 million of the bribe money from aPetrobrassubsidiary, in the PMDB account during the period in which he directed the company (2003–2015).[28]

Electoral history

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Election Political result Candidate Party Votes %
2006 Brazilian Senate election in Amapá
Electorate:360,614
Turnout:298,309 (82.72%)		MDBhold
Majority:29,108		José SarneyMDB152,48653.87
Cristina AlmeidaPSB123,37843.59
Celisa PennaPSOL3,6081.27
Juraci FreitasPSDB1,3600.48
Liduína BastosPSTU1,1500.41
Cosmo SilvaPRP7530.27
1998 Brazilian Senate election in Amapá
Electorate:213,289
Turnout:184,348 (86.43%)		MDBhold
Majority:44,429		José SarneyMDB97,44659.31
Ildegardo GomesPPS53,03732.28
José Soares da SilvaPDT6,1193.73
Walter Cunha da SilvaPSC4,4712.72
Vanda Cherfen de SouzaPTdoB3,2281.96
1990 Brazilian Senate election in Amapá
Three candidates elected
Electorate:135,939
Turnout:105,937 (77.93%)		MDB
Majority:25,767		José SarneyMDB53,00424.55
Henrique AlmeidaPFL27,23712.62
Jonas BorgesPTB26,01612.05
Geovani BorgesPSC21,3769.90
Wagner GomesPT17,1997.97
Edson CorreiaPL16,3697.58
Raquel CapiberibePSB15,9937.41
Heraldo AraújoPSDB6,5643.04
Cláudio NunesPDT5,7872.68
Clark PlatonPTB5,6482.62
Carmem MaiaPDT2,3022.46
Maria Vitória ChagasPDT3,6751.70
Antônio PedreiraPTdoB3,4321.59
Amaury FariasMDB3,1811.47
Nelson SouzaPRP2,0170.93
Marlúcio SerranoPMN1,8100.84
Milton PaulettoPDS1,2740.59
1985 Brazilian vice presidential election
Electoral college
Electorate:686
Turnout:686 (100%)		MDB
Majority:300		José SarneyMDB48072.73
Flávio MarcílioPDS18027.27
1978 Brazilian Senate election in Maranhão
Electorate:1,077,915
Turnout:758,306 (70.35%)		ARENAhold
Majority:247,761		José SarneyARENA409,63364.16
Mário RibeiroMDB161,87225.36
Américo de SouzaARENA66,89710.48
1970 Brazilian Senate election in Maranhão
Two candidates elected
Electorate:470,731
Turnout:351,850 (74.75%)		ARENAhold
Majority:52,628		José SarneyARENA236,61842.35
Alexandre CostaARENA183,99032.93
Epitácio CafeteiraMDB138,11124.72
1965 Maranhão gubernatorial election
Electorate:401,153
Turnout:247,156 (61.61%)		UDN
Majority:52,502		José SarneyUDN121,06253.63
Costa RodriguesPDC68,56030.37
Renato ArcherPTB36,10315.99

Personal life

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Sarney with his wifeMarly Macieira

In 1952, Sarney marriedMarly Macieira.[29]Their children are Congressman José Sarney Filho, GovernorRoseana Sarney,and the businessmanFernando Sarney.[29]

As a writer, his best known work is the poetry bookOs Marimbondos de Fogo( "The Fire Wasps" ).[30]Sarney was elected to a chair in theBrazilian Academy of Lettersin 1980.[31]

In April 2012, Sarney was hospitalized and underwent anangioplasty.[32]In July 2021, he was hospitalized forpleural effusionand had a procedure to remove fluid from his lungs.[33]

In July 2023, Sarney was hospitalized after a fall and was diagnosed withcerebral ischemia.[34]

Awards and decorations

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Below is a selected list of awards Sarney has received:[35]

National honours

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Ribbon bar Honour Date
Grand Cross of theOrder of the Southern Cross 1985 – automatic upon taking presidential office
Grand Cross of theOrder of Rio Branco 1985 – automatic upon taking presidential office
Grand Cross of theOrder of Military Merit 1995 – automatic upon taking presidential office
Grand Cross of theOrder of Naval Merit 1985 – automatic upon taking presidential office
Grand Cross of theOrder of Aeronautical Merit 1985 – automatic upon taking presidential office
Grand Cross of the Order of Military Judicial Merit 1985 – automatic upon taking presidential office
Grand Cross of theNational Order of Merit 1985 – automatic upon taking presidential office

Foreign honours

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Ribbon bar Country Honour
France Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour
Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio Italy Medal of theSacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
Den kongelige norske fortjenstorden storkors stripe Norway Grand Cross of theRoyal Norwegian Order of Merit
PER Order of the Sun of Peru - Grand Cross BAR Peru Grand Cross with diamonds of theOrder of the Sun of Peru
PRT Order of Saint James of the Sword - Grand Collar BAR Portugal Collar of theMilitary Order of Saint James of the Sword
Portugal Grand Cross of theOrder of Christ
Portugal Grand Cross of theOrder of Prince Henry
Romania Grand Cross of theOrder of the Star of Romania

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Neves fell ill the day before he was to take office as president and died before he could be sworn in, therefore never assumed the presidency[1]

References

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  1. ^abcdefgOnis, Juan de (10 May 1985)."President by Chance, Sarney of Brazil Is 'Agitator Who Makes Things Happen'".Los Angeles Times.Brasília.Archivedfrom the original on 17 July 2021.Retrieved17 July2021.
  2. ^Brooke, James (13 March 1990)."In Brazil, Scathing Criticism For the Departing President".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 21 September 2013.Retrieved1 July2010.
  3. ^abcdeGraham, Bradley (29 December 2023)."Sarney's tenure embroils brazilian politics".The Washington Post.Brasília.ISSN0190-8286.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2024.Retrieved17 July2021.
  4. ^abcdRomero, Simon (26 December 2014)."Decline of a Political Family Opens the Way for a Shift in Brazil".The New York Times.São Luís.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 26 December 2014.Retrieved17 July2021.
  5. ^"Dona Kiola, mãe de Sarney, 94 anos"[Mrs. Kiola, Sarney's mother, 94 years old](PDF).O Globo(in Brazilian Portuguese). 17 January 2004. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 17 July 2021.Retrieved17 July2021.
  6. ^"Os laços de Jader com o escândalo da fazenda fantasma"[Jader's ties to the ghost farm scandal].O Estado de S. Paulo(in Brazilian Portuguese). 23 April 2001.Archivedfrom the original on 10 April 2023.Retrieved17 July2021.
  7. ^abcdefghijkCrocitti, John J.; Vallance, Monique (2012).Brazil Today: A-Z.ISBN9780313346729.Retrieved18 July2021.
  8. ^abDias, Sônia; Lemos, Renato; Carneiro, Alan (2015)."SARNEY, José".Fundação Getulio Vargas(in Brazilian Portuguese).Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil.Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2017.Retrieved17 July2021.
  9. ^abcdef"President Jose Sarney - 1985-1990".GlobalSecurity.org.Archivedfrom the original on 4 June 2017.Retrieved17 July2021.
  10. ^abc"Sarney's Presidency, 1985-90".Federal Research Division.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2006.Retrieved17 July2021– via countrystudies.us.
  11. ^"DEMOCRACY IN BRAZIL: ORIGINS, PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS"(PDF).Kellogg.Retrieved17 July2021.
  12. ^abZirker, Daniel (1993)."The Military Ministers and Political Change in Post-Authoritarian Brazil".Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Latino-Américaines et Caraïbes.18(35). Jstor: 87–110.doi:10.1080/08263663.1993.10816691.JSTOR41799827.Retrieved17 July2021.
  13. ^"Veteran Brazilian politician jailed for corruption".France24.Retrieved17 July2021.
  14. ^"Sarney Seeking New Political Allies in Brazil".The Los Angeles Times.9 October 1987.Retrieved17 July2021.
  15. ^"Jose Sarney was sworn in as Brazil's first civilian president".UPI.Retrieved17 July2021.
  16. ^abcd"José Sarney, Hyperinflation and The Cruzado Plan in Brazil in the Late 1980s".SJSU.Retrieved17 July2021.
  17. ^"El día que Raúl Alfonsín y José Sarney intentaron romper la rivalidad entre Argentina y Brasil y plantaron la semilla del Mercosur".Infobae.Retrieved17 July2021.
  18. ^Barbosa, Luiz C. (1993)."The World-System and the Destruction of the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest".Review (Fernand Braudel Center).16(2). JSTOR: 215–240.JSTOR40241255.Retrieved17 July2021.
  19. ^"In-depth: 30 years ago, Mercosur's creation put an end to the historic tensions between Brazil and Argentina".Rio Times Online.Retrieved17 July2021.
  20. ^ab"PLANO CRUZADO".FGV.Retrieved17 July2021.
  21. ^"Governo Fernando Henrique Cardoso".Brasilescola.Retrieved17 July2021.
  22. ^"Lula tem encontro com Sarney após Bolsonaro tentar se aproximar de emedebista"(in Portuguese). Folha.Retrieved17 July2021.
  23. ^"Presidentes do Senado Federal - Nova República".22 January 2013.Retrieved17 July2021.
  24. ^"How Brazil's Poorest State Minted One Of The Country's Richest -- And Most Controversial -- Political Clans".Forbes.11 June 2014.Retrieved17 July2021.
  25. ^"Ph.D. Thesis Uncovers Widespread Nepotism in Brazil's Congress".AP. 15 March 1989.Retrieved17 July2021.
  26. ^"Where dinosaurs still roam".The Economist.5 February 2009.Retrieved17 July2021.
  27. ^"O oligarca perfeito".Veja.Archived fromthe originalon 15 June 2011.
  28. ^"Sérgio Machado relata repasse de R$ 18,5 milhões a Sarney"(in Portuguese). Revista Exame.Retrieved15 June2016.
  29. ^abQueiroz, Adolpho (2006).Na arena do marketing político: ideologia e propaganda nas campanhas(in Portuguese).ISBN9788532302168.Retrieved17 July2021.
  30. ^"Livro: Os Maribondos de Fogo".Estantevirtual.Retrieved17 July2021.
  31. ^"BRAZILIAN ACADEMY OF LETTERS".Glli-us.Retrieved17 July2021.
  32. ^"Brazil's former president Jose Sarney has heart surgery".BBC. 16 April 2012.Retrieved17 July2021.
  33. ^"José Sarney é internado em hospital em Brasília"(in Portuguese). Oimparcial.Retrieved16 July2021.
  34. ^"José Sarney é diagnosticado com isquemia cerebral e recebe alta em São Luís".G1.17 July 2023.Retrieved6 September2023.
  35. ^"Presidentes da Câmara dos Deputados – República – Michel Temer".Portal da Câmara.Retrieved7 November2017.
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Political offices
Preceded by
Newton Bello
 Governor of Maranhão
1966–1970 		Succeeded by
Antônio Dino
Preceded by Vice President of Brazil
1985 		Vacant
Title next held by
Itamar Franco
Preceded by President of Brazil
21 April 1985 – 15 March 1990
Acting: 15 March – 21 April 1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Humberto Lucena
 President of the Federal Senate
1995–1997
2003–2005
2009–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Succeeded by
Preceded by
Academic offices
Preceded by 6th Academic of the 38th chair of the
Brazilian Academy of Letters
6 November 1980–present 		Incumbent
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