Fernando Henrique Cardoso | |
|---|---|
_(cropped)(b).jpg) Official portrait, 1999 | |
| 34th President of Brazil | |
| In office 1 January 1995 – 1 January 2003 | |
| Vice President | Marco Maciel |
| Preceded by | Itamar Franco |
| Succeeded by | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |
| Senator forSão Paulo | |
| In office 4 April 1994 – 15 December 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Eva Blay |
| Succeeded by | Eva Blay |
| In office 15 March 1983 – 5 October 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Franco Montoro |
| Succeeded by | Eva Blay |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 19 May 1993 – 30 March 1994 | |
| President | Itamar Franco |
| Preceded by | Eliseu Resende |
| Succeeded by | Rubens Ricupero |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 2 October 1992 – 20 May 1993 | |
| President | Itamar Franco |
| Preceded by | Celso Lafer |
| Succeeded by | Celso Amorim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1931-06-18)18 June 1931 (age 94) Rio de Janeiro,Federal District, Brazil |
| Political party | PSDB (1988–present) |
| Other political affiliations | MDB (1974–1980) PMDB (1980–1988) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Pedro Cardoso (cousin) |
| Residence(s) | São Paulo,São Paulo, Brazil |
| Alma mater | University of São Paulo (PhD) |
| Profession | Sociologist |
| Signature |  |
| Website | http://www.ifhc.org.br/ |
| Part ofa series on |
| Liberalism in Brazil |
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Fernando Henrique CardosoGCBGCTEGCoIISEGColIHGColLGCMREDMNCYCOMRI (Brazilian Portuguese:[feʁˈnɐ̃duẽˈʁikikaʁˈdozu]ⓘ; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initialsFHC (Brazilian Portuguese:[ˌɛfjaɡaˈse]ⓘ), is a Braziliansociologist, professor, and politician[1] who served as the 34thpresident of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 1 January 2003.[2] He was the first Brazilian president to be reelected for a subsequent term. An accomplished scholar ofdependency theory noted for his research on slavery and political theory, Cardoso has earned many honors including thePrince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation (2000)[3] and theKluge Prize from the USLibrary of Congress (2012).[4]
Cardoso was inaugurated as president on January 1, 1995. He continued the economic reforms that had been initiated by the previous administration,inflation rates remained low,several state-owned companies were privatized, andmarket liberalization increased the country's visibility in the international market. The government succeeded in passing economic and administrative laws, including one that allowed for the reelection of executive officeholders. In 1998, he won thepresidential election in the first round, becoming the first president to be reelected at the time. During his second term, international crises, a significantdevaluation of the Real, the energy crisis, and other events led to a significant drop in his popularity. Currently, he heads the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Foundation, which he founded in 2004, and serves on various advisory boards for different organizations abroad, such as theClinton Global Initiative,Brown University, and theUnited Nations Foundation. He is also a member ofThe Elders, theBrazilian Academy of Letters, and the honorary president of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party).
Cardoso was also the 10th president of theInternational Sociological Association (1982–1986).[5]
Cardoso descends from wealthy Portuguese immigrants. Some were politicians during theEmpire of Brazil.[6] He also has African ancestry, through a black great-great-grandmother and amulatto great-grandmother.[7] Cardoso described himself as "slightly mulatto" and allegedly said he has "a foot in the kitchen" (a nod to historical Braziliandomestic slavery).[8][9]
Born in Rio de Janeiro, he lived inSão Paulo for most of his life. Cardoso is a widower who was married toRuth Vilaça Correia Leite Cardoso, an anthropologist, from 1953 until her death on 24 June 2008; they had three children.[10] Educated as a sociologist, he was a professor of political science and sociology at theUniversidade de São Paulo.[11] and president of theInternational Sociological Association (ISA), from 1982 to 1986.[5] He is a member of theInstitute for Advanced Study (Princeton),[12] an honorary foreign member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences and has written several books.
Cardoso was also associate director of Studies in theÉcole des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris, then visiting professor at theCollège de France and laterParis Nanterre University.[13] He later gave lectures at British and US universities includingCambridge University,Stanford University,Brown University and theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[13] He is fluent in Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish, and can express himself in Italian and German.[13]
After his presidency, he was appointed to a five-year term (2003–2008) as professor-at-large atBrown University'sWatson Institute for International Studies, where he is now on the board of overseers. Cardoso is a founding member of the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy's advisory board.[14] In February 2005, he gave the fourth annualKissinger Lecture on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, Washington DC on"Dependency and Development in Latin America.[15]
In 2005, Cardoso was selected by the British magazineProspect as being one of the world's top one hundred living public intellectuals.[16][17][18]
Cardoso earned a bachelor's degree inSocial Sciences fromUniversidade de São Paulo in 1952, from where he also earned a Master's and a Doctorate in Sociology. His doctoral thesis, under the supervision ofFlorestan Fernandes, examined the institution of slavery in Southern Brazil, critiquing, from a Marxist perspective, the dominant approach ofGilberto Freyre to the topic. It has since become a classic on the subject. Cardoso also received the Livre-Docência degree in 1963, the most senior level of academic recognition in Brazil, also from Universidade de São Paulo. In 1968, he received the title ofCathedratic Professor, holding the chair of Political Science at Universidade de São Paulo.[11]
As he continued his academic career abroad in Chile and France after the tightening of the Brazilian military dictatorship, Cardoso published several books and papers on state bureaucracy, industrial elites and, particularly,dependency theory. His work on dependency would be his most acclaimed contribution to sociology and development studies, especially in the United States.[19] After presiding the International Sociological Association from 1982 to 1986 Cardoso was selected as a Fulbright Program 40th anniversary distinguished fellow and in that capacity was a visiting scholar and lectured atColumbia University on democracy in Brazil.[20] Cardoso currently gives speeches and classes abroad.[21] In June 2013 he was elected as a member ofAcademia Brasileira de Letras. He said his election was due to recognition for his academic achievements, rather than his political career.[22][23]
After his return to Brazil, Fernando Henrique engaged with the burgeoning democratic opposition to the military-dominated regime both as an intellectual and as a political activist. He becameSenator fromSão Paulo for the formerBrazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) in 1982, replacing Franco Montoro, the newly elected governor of São Paulo. In 1985, he ran unsuccessfully formayor of São Paulo against former PresidentJânio Quadros. Ahead in the polls, he let himself be photographed in the mayor's chair before the elections. Some attribute his loss to this episode.[24]
Elected to the Senate in 1986 for theParty of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), which MDB became after re-democratization, he joined a group of PMDB parliamentarians who left that party to found the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) after previously held PMDB positions shifted to the right when the party filled with politicians who had collaborated with the dictatorship. As a senator, Cardoso took part in the 1987–1988 National Constituent Assembly that drafted and approved Brazil's current Constitution in the wake of the country's re-democratization. In the early stages of the Constituent Assembly's work (from February to March 1987), Cardoso led the committee that drafted the internal rules of procedure, including the procedural rules governing the drafting of the Constitution itself. These rules of procedure were adopted by the Assembly and published on 25 March 1987. 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 PresidentItamar Franco (PMDB).[25]
From May 1993 to April 1994, he was Minister of Finance and resigned in April 1994 to launch a presidential campaign. In the3 October election, he won the presidency in the first round of voting with 54% of the vote, more than twice that of his nearest opponent,Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This is still the largest margin of victory ever recorded in a free election in Brazilian history. After the constitution was amended to allow a president to succeed himself, he won a second term almost as easily in1998, taking 53% to Lula's 31.7% to win in a single round. To date, he is the only president to win an outright majority of the popular vote, and the only one to win the presidency in a single round since the institution of the two-round system in 1989.
Cardoso was succeeded in 2003 by Lula da Silva, who ran for the fourth time and had come in second on prior attempts. Lula won in the runoff election against the Cardoso-supported candidate,José Serra. Lula's election has been interpreted as resulting from Cardoso's low approval ratings in his second term.[26]
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Cardoso, often nicknamed "FHC", was elected with the support of a heterodox alliance of his ownBrazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and two right-wing parties, theLiberal Front Party (PFL) and theBrazilian Labour Party (PTB). Brazil's largest party, the centristParty of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), joined Cardoso's governing coalition after the election, as did the right-wingBrazilian Progressive Party (PPB) in 1996.
Party loyalty was not always strong, and coalition members did not always vote with the government. Cardoso had difficulty at times gaining support for some of his legislative priorities, even though his coalition held an overwhelming majority of the congressional seats. Nevertheless, many constitutional amendments were passed during his presidency.[clarification needed]
Cardoso's presidency saw institutional advancements in human rights, beginning with a national secretariat and a new government program, discussed with civil society, to address the issue. On 8 January 1996, he issued the controversialDecree 1775, which created a framework for the clear demarcation ofindigenous territories, but which, as part of the process, openedindigenous territories to counterclaims by adjacent landowners. In 2000, Cardoso demanded the disclosure of some classified military files concerningOperation Condor, a network of South American military dictatorships that kidnapped and assassinated political opponents.[27]
FHC was the first Brazilian President to address theinequality and the enormous gap between rich and poor. He started the following programs:Bolsa Escola, theAuxílio Gás, the Bolsa Alimentação, and the Cartão Alimentação.[28]
His wife,Ruth Cardoso, focused on unifying transfer programs aimed at helping people suffering from poverty and hunger.,[29][30][31] by means of a program based on the idea that educating the poor could help raise them out of poverty.[32]
Cardoso's administration deepened the privatization program launched by presidentFernando Collor de Mello. During his first term, several government-owned enterprises in areas such as steel milling, telecommunications and mining, such asTelebras andCompanhia Vale do Rio Doce were sold to the private sector, the deepest denationalisation in Brazilian history, amidst a polarized political debate between "neoliberals" and "developmentalists". Ironically, this time Cardoso was against the latter group, generating uproar among former academic colleagues and political allies who accused him of reneging on his previous intellectual work. Economists still contend over its long-term effects; some research suggests that companies sold by the government achieved better profitability as a result of their disengagement from the state.[33]
Despite the sale of public assets, the years 1995 to 2002 saw a rise of the total public debt from 30% to 55.5% of GDP. Economists aligned with his government argued that this was due to external factors outside the control of the administration at the time, such as the devaluation of the Brazilian real and the growth of the share of the debt denominated in US dollars.[34] Nevertheless,devaluation of the currency was an instrument ofmonetary policy used right after his reelection, when the real pegged to the dollar led to a financial crisis that saw the country lose much of its foreign reserve fund and raise its interest rates on government bonds to very high levels as he tried to stabilize the currency under a new free-floating regime. With this economic shift, the greatest achievement of Cardoso – his landmark lowering of inflation – was maintained, but his popularity plummeted.
Given his previous experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs and his prestige as an internationally famous sociologist, he was respected on the world scene, building friendships with such leaders asBill Clinton andErnesto Zedillo. Although he was respected abroad, in Brazil he had problems gaining support in Congress for government priorities and among people in general. As a result, major reforms planned by theexecutive branch, such as changes in the tax system and tosocial security, were only partially approved and only after long discussion. Although claiming to still supportsocial democracy, his economic policies led people on the left to identify him withneoliberalism andright-wing politics, terms that often carry avery negative connotation in Latin American political debate and academic circles.
He also experienced personal problems with former allyItamar Franco, his predecessor who later became Governor ofMinas Gerais, a fierce opponent of his administrative reforms that saw the state lose its capacity to contract debt and forced a reduction of local government spending. Cardoso was also criticized for amending the constitution to his own benefit, allowing him to stay eight years in office. His popularity in his first four years, gained with the success ofPlano Real, decreased during his last four years as the currency crisis was followed by lower economic growth and employment rates, greater public debt, growing political dissent, low levels of investment in appropriate infrastructure, and, finally, an energy crisis caused by an unexpected drought, as over 80% of Brazil's electricity is hydroelectric. He publicly admitted that he could have done more forpublic security and for the creation of new jobs, but defended his policies in areas such as health and education.
Cardoso's administration was accused of bribing congressmen to pass a constitutional amendment that secured FHC the right to seek reelection, which he eventually won.[35]
After stepping down from office, he assumed a position as a senior leader of his party and leading public voice in the opposition to the incumbentWorkers' Party, writing extensively on Brazilian politics for newspapers and giving lectures and interviews. Nevertheless, his relatively low popularity rates among the general population have made his legacy a mixed blessing to his political allies, who are somewhat reluctant to embrace it wholeheartedly during elections, especially on topics regarding privatization and social policy. In 2006, he helped the campaign of the PSDB candidate for the Presidency,Geraldo Alckmin, and has reiterated that he does not wish to run for office again. In the2022 presidential election, Cardoso endorsed his former Workers' Party rivalLula over then-incumbentJair Bolsonaro.[36]
He dedicates his time to a personal institute which he founded inSão Paulo, based on the model of bodies created by former presidents of the United States, has written two books about his experience as president of Brazil and advocates for relaxation of criminal laws relating to drugs, generating both criticism and praise. He lectures atBrown University about Brazilian economic policy, urban development, anddeforestation and has taught as a guest lecturer atSciences Po in Paris.[37] Also, in 2007 he became a member of the editorial board of the Latin American policy publicationAmericas Quarterly, for which he is an occasional contributor.[38][39]
Since leaving the Brazilian presidency, Cardoso has been involved in a number of international organisations and initiatives. He is a member of theClub of Madrid and was its president from 2003 to 2006.[40] He has been a member of theFondation Chirac's honour committee,[41] ever since the Foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac to promote world peace. Cardoso is a founding member of Washington D.C.–based think tank TheInter-American Dialogue as well as former chair of the organization's board. He is also a former director ofWorld Resources Institute.[42][43]
Cardoso has a particular interest in drug policy. He served on theLatin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy and later chaired theGlobal Commission on Drug Policy.[44] He appeared as an interviewee in 2011 documentaryBreaking the Taboo, which explores the conclusion reached by the Global Commission on Drug Policy in 2011 that drug liberalization is the best approach in dealing with drug policy.
Cardoso is also a member ofThe Elders, a group of independent global leaders who work together on peace and human rights issues.[45] In August 2009, he travelled to Israel and theWest Bank as the head of an Elders delegation that also includedEla Bhatt,Gro Harlem Brundtland,Jimmy Carter,Mary Robinson andDesmond Tutu.[46]
In 2013 he became a member of theBrazilian Academy of Letters.
In 2017, Cardoso received the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from theInter-American Dialogue.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDB | Franco Montoro | 4,517,456 | 64.39 | |
| MDB | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | 1,272,416 | 18.14 | |
| ARENA | Cláudio Lembo | 1,225,730 | 17.47 | |
| No party | (Invalid votes) | 2,079,850 | 22.86 | |
| Turnout | 9,095,452 | 88.81 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,241,247 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTB | Jânio Quadros | 1,572,260 | 39.33 | |
| MDB | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | 1,431,175 | 35.80 | |
| PT | Eduardo Suplicy | 827,452 | 20.70 | |
| PCN | Francisco Rossi | 68,305 | 1.71 | |
| PH | Ana Rosa Tenente | 45,068 | 1.13 | |
| PPB | Pedro Geraldo Costa | 27,887 | 0.70 | |
| PMC | Antônio Carlos Fernandes | 8,107 | 0.20 | |
| PL | Ruy Côdo | 4,612 | 0.12 | |
| PDC | José Maria Eymael | 4,578 | 0.11 | |
| PMB | Armando Corrêa | 4,187 | 0.10 | |
| PSC | Rivailde Ovídio | 4,066 | 0.10 | |
| No party | (Invalid votes) | 192,344 | 3.97 | |
| Turnout | 4,190,041 | 86.51 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,843,368 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDB | Mário Covas | 7,785,667 | 32.78 | |
| MDB | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | 6,223,995 | 26.20 | |
| PT | Hélio Bicudo | 2,456,837 | 10.34 | |
| PFL | José Maria Marin | 2,256,142 | 9.50 | |
| PT | Jacó Bittar | 1,747,423 | 7.36 | |
| PDS | Fábio Meireles | 1.285885 | 5.41 | |
| PTB | Antônio Duarte Nogueira | 784,885 | 3.30 | |
| PL | Fernando Vergueiro | 379,285 | 1.60 | |
| PH | Sílvia Luiza Borini | 230,168 | 0.97 | |
| PPB | Adalberto Camargo | 181,989 | 0.77 | |
| PH | Luiz Jaime Faria | 159,878 | 0.67 | |
| PDT | Eusébio Rocha | 144,042 | 0.61 | |
| PMC | Egisto Domenicali | 115,482 | 0.49 | |
| No party | (Invalid votes) | 7,153,337 | 23.15 | |
| Turnout | 15,452,508 | 96.51 | ||
| Registered electors | 16,010,572 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSDB | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | 34,364,961 | 54.28 | |
| PT | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | 17,122,127 | 27.04 | |
| PRONA | Enéas Carneiro | 4,671,457 | 7.38 | |
| MDB | Orestes Quércia | 2,772,121 | 4.38 | |
| PDT | Leonel Brizola | 2,015,836 | 3.18 | |
| PPR | Esperidião Amin | 1,739,894 | 2.75 | |
| PRN | Carlos Antônio Gomes | 387,738 | 0.61 | |
| PSC | Hernani Fortuna | 238,197 | 0.38 | |
| No party | (Invalid votes) | 14,636,133 | 18.78 | |
| Turnout | 77,948,464 | 82.24 | ||
| Registered electors | 94,782,803 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSDB | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | 35,936,540 | 53.06 | |
| PT | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | 21,475,218 | 31.71 | |
| PPS | Ciro Gomes | 7,426,190 | 10.97 | |
| PRONA | Enéas Carneiro | 1,447,090 | 2.14 | |
| PMN | Ivan Frota | 251,337 | 0.37 | |
| PV | Alfredo Sirkis | 212,984 | 0.31 | |
| PSTU | José Maria de Almeida | 202,659 | 0.30 | |
| PTdoB | João de Deus | 198,916 | 0.29 | |
| PSDC | José Maria Eymael | 171,831 | 0.25 | |
| PTN | Thereza Ruiz | 166,138 | 0.25 | |
| PSC | Sérgio Bueno | 124,659 | 0.18 | |
| PHS | Vasco Azevedo Neto | 109,003 | 0.16 | |
| No party | (Invalid votes) | 15,575,298 | 18.70 | |
| Turnout | 83,297,863 | 18.70 | ||
| Registered electors | 106,101,067 | |||
Argentina: Collar of theOrder of the Liberator General San Martín
Bolivia: Collar of theOrder of the Condor of the Andes
Chile: Collar of theOrder of Merit (Chile)
Colombia: Collar of theOrder of Boyacá
Costa Rica: Gran Cross of the Order of Juan Mora Fernández
Denmark: Knight of theOrder of the Elephant[47]
Ecuador: Collar of theNational Order of Merit (Ecuador)
Finland: Gran Cross with Collar of theOrder of the White Rose of Finland
France:
Germany: Grand Cross Special Class of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Hungary: Grand Cross with Chainof theHungarian Order of Merit
Italy: Collar of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic (1995)[48]
Japan: Grand Cordonof theOrder of the Chrysanthemum
KSA: Collar of theOrder of King Abdulaziz
Malaysia: Honorary Recipient of theOrder of the Crown of the Realm (1995)[49]
Mexico: Collar of theOrder of the Aztec Eagle
Panama: Gran Cross of theOrder of Manuel Amador Guerrero
Paraguay: Gran Cross of theNational Order of Merit (Paraguay)
Peru:
Portugal:[50]
Poland:
Romania:Order of the Star of Romania
South Africa: Gran Cross of theOrder of Good Hope
South Korea:Grand Order of Mugunghwa
Spain: Collar of theOrder of Isabella the Catholic (1998)[53]
Slovakia: Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of theOrder of the White Double Cross (2001)[54][better source needed]
Suriname: Grand Cross of theHonorary Order of the Yellow Star
Ukraine: First Class of theOrder of Prince Yaroslav the Wise
Uruguay:Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (1995)[55]
United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of the Bath (1997)[56]
United States:Kluge Prize, 2012[57][58]
Venezuela:Fernando Henrique Cardoso is no longer on staff at the World Resources Institute.
