Everything about Fernando Henrique Cardoso totally explained
Fernando Henrique Cardoso,
pron., (born
June 18,
1931) - also known by his initials
FHC - was the President of the Federative Republic of
Brazil for two terms from
January 1,
1995 to
January 1,
2003. He is also an accomplished
sociologist.
Personal and professional life
Born in Rio de Janeiro, he's lived in
São Paulo most of his life. Cardoso is married (wife Ruth Valença Correia Leite Cardoso) and has three children.
Educated as a sociologist, he was a Professor of
Political Science and
Sociology at the
Universidade de São Paulo. He was President of the
International Sociological Association (ISA), from
1982 to
1986. He is a member of the
Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), an honorary foreign member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has penned several books.
He was also Associate Director of Studies in the
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in
Paris and then visiting professor at the
Collège de France and later at the
Paris-Nanterre University. He later lectured at American universities including
Stanford University and the
University of California, Berkeley.
In 2005, Cardoso was selected by the British magazine
Prospect as being one of
the world's top one hundred living intellectuals.
Elections
In the beginning of his political life, Fernando Henrique was elected
Senator of the
state of
São Paulo for the former
MDB, in 1982. In 1985, he ran for
Mayor of São Paulo even though he was in front according to the polls, he lost to former President
Jânio Quadros in an episode which, believing he was going to win the election, he let himself be photographed in the mayor's chair before the elections. Some attribute his loss in the election to this episode.
Re-elected for the Senate in 1986 for the
PMDB, which substituted MDB after Brazilian re-democratization, he helped a group of parliamentaries of PMDB to abandon the party in order to create the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (
PSDB). Until
1992, Cardoso served as Leader of the PSDB in the Senate. From October 1992 to May
1993, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President
Itamar Franco (PMDB).
From
May 1993 until
April 1994, he was Minister of Finance and introduced the
Plano Real (Real Plan) to end hyperinflation. Buoyed by the success of the Plano Real, Cardoso decided to run for the Presidency and, backed by President Franco, won in the first round of elections, on
October 3,
1994. Four years later, in
October 4,
1998, after a Constitutional Amendment that allowed reelection, Cardoso won the Presidency again, with approximately 53% of the vote, while his closest challenger,
Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva (
PT), had about 32%.
Cardoso was succeeded in 2003 by Lula da Silva, who was running for President for the fourth time. Lula won in the runoff against the Cardoso-supported candidate
José Serra. Lula's election has since been interpreted as a result of Cardoso's growing unpopularity in his second term.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso's Administration (1995-2003)
Cardoso, often nicknamed "FHC", was elected with the support of a heterodox alliance of his own Social Democratic Party, the PSDB, and two right-wing parties, the
Liberal Front Party (PFL) and the
Brazilian Labour Party (PTB). Brazil's largest party, the centrist Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), joined Cardoso's governing coalition after the election, as did the right-wing
PPB, the Brazilian Progressive Party, in
1996.
Party loyalty was weak, and deputies and senators belonging to the parties in the coalition didn't always vote with the government. President Cardoso had difficulty, at times, gaining sufficient support for some of his legislative priorities, despite the fact that his coalition parties held an overwhelming majority of congressional seats.
In 2000, Cardoso demanded the disclosure of some classified military files concerning
Operation Condor, a network of South American military dictatorships that kidnapped and assassinated political opponents.
A feature of Cardoso's administration, was the continuity of the privatization program, initiated with his predecessor
Fernando Collor de Mello, of several government-owned enterprises such as
Acesita,
Embraer,
Telebras,
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.. Some members of Collor's government were also part of the later Cardoso administration in different or equal functions:
Pedro Malan,
Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL);
Antônio Kandir (PSDB-SP);
Pratini de Moraes and
Celso Lafer;
Renold Stephanes Armínio Fraga;
Pedro Parente..
The month before the
Plano Real started, June
1994, monthly inflation averaged 31.2 percent in 1994, for a total of 2,294 percent that year. Inflation further declined to monthly rates of between 1-3% in
1995, for an annual rate of 25.9 percent. In
1996, 16.5 percent;
1997, 7.2 percent..
As a result, major reforms planned by the
Executive branch, such as changes in the tax system and in
social security, were only partially approved after really long and tiring discussions. On
January 8,
1996, he issued the controversial
Decree 1775, which created a framework for the clear demarcation of indigenous reservations, which as part of the process opened
indigenous territories to counter-claims by adjacent landowners.
Using his previous experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs and his prestige as an internationally famous sociologist, FHC was greatly respected in the world scenario, building friendships with such leaders as
Bill Clinton and
Ernesto Zedillo. Although he was respected abroad, in Brazil FHC had problems explaining his government priorities to Congress and people in general. Although claiming to be a
leftist and supporter of
social-democracy, FHC took some decisions in economy that led people to believe he became a
neoliberal.
He also experienced personal problems with former ally
Itamar Franco, his predecessor that later became Governor of
Minas Gerais. FHC was also criticized for transforming the Constitution to his own benefit - creating reelection and allowing him to stay eight years in office. Most people think that his popularity in his first four years was gained with the continuation of Plano Real, but decreased in his last four years after different crisis in politics and in the energy department. He also publicly admitted that he could have done more for
public security and for the generation of new jobs.
After Presidency
After he stepped down from office, FHC has been giving lectures at
Brown University, about Brazilian economic policy, urban development, and
deforestation (External Link
). Also, he dedicates his time to a personal institute created by him in
São Paulo, based on the model of bodies created by former Presidents of the
United States. He has written two books about his experience as President of Brazil, and has given many interviews, where he criticizes the government of
Lula da Silva. In 2006, he helped the campaign of the PSDB candidate for the Presidency,
Geraldo Alckmin, and has said many times that he doesn't wish to run for office again.
After leaving the Brazilian presidency, Cardoso also joined the
Club of Madrid.
Awards
Selected works
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique (2006) The Accidental President of Brazil, PublicAffairs, ISBN 1-58648-324-2
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique (2001) Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Transformation, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 0-7425-0893-5Further Information
Get more info on 'Fernando Henrique Cardoso'.
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