2002 Brazilian general election explained

Country:Brazil
Previous Election:1998 Brazilian general election
Previous Year:1998
Next Election:2006 Brazilian general election
Next Year:2006
Module:
Embed:yes
Election Name:Presidential election
Type:presidential
Election Date:6 October 2002 (first round)
27 October 2002 (second round)
Turnout:82.26% (first round)
79.53% (second round)
Alliance Name:no
Image1:Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (cropped 2).jpg
Candidate1:Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Running Mate1:José Alencar
Party1:Workers' Party (Brazil)
Alliance1:Lula President
Popular Vote1:52,793,364
Percentage1:61.27%
Candidate2:José Serra
Running Mate2:Rita Camata
Party2:Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Alliance2:Great Alliance
Popular Vote2:33,370,739
Percentage2:38.73%
President
Before Election:Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Before Party:Brazilian Social Democratic Party
After Election:Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
After Party:Workers' Party (Brazil)
Module:
Embed:yes
Election Name:Chamber of Deputies
Seats For Election:All 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
Election Date:6 October 2002
Majority Seats:257
Party1:Workers' Party (Brazil)
Leader1:José Genoíno
Percentage1:18.40
Seats1:91
Last Election1:58
Party2:Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Leader2:José Aníbal
Percentage2:14.26
Seats2:70
Last Election2:99
Party3:PFL
Leader3:Jorge Bornhausen
Percentage3:13.38
Seats3:84
Last Election3:105
Party4:PMDB
Percentage4:13.37
Seats4:76
Last Election4:83
Party5:PPB
Percentage5:7.81
Seats5:48
Last Election5:60
Party6:Brazilian Socialist Party
Leader6:Anthony Garotinho
Percentage6:5.28
Seats6:22
Last Election6:19
Party7:Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
Percentage7:5.12
Seats7:21
Last Election7:25
Party8:Brazilian Labour Party (current)
Color8:
  1. 7B7B7B
Leader8:Roberto Jefferson
Percentage8:4.63
Seats8:26
Last Election8:31
Party9:Liberal Party (Brazil, 1985)
Leader9:Valdemar Costa Neto
Percentage9:4.32
Seats9:26
Last Election9:12
Party10:PPS
Percentage10:3.07
Seats10:15
Last Election10:3
Party11:Communist Party of Brazil
Percentage11:2.25
Seats11:12
Last Election11:7
Party12:Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order
Leader12:Enéas Carneiro
Percentage12:2.06
Seats12:6
Last Election12:1
Party13:Green Party (Brazil)
Percentage13:1.35
Last Election13:0
Seats13:5
Party14:Social Christian Party (Brazil)
Percentage14:0.58
Seats14:1
Last Election14:3
Party15:Social Labour Party
Percentage15:0.58
Last Election15:1
Seats15:3
Party16:Social Democratic Party (Brazil, 1987)
Percentage16:0.52
Seats16:4
Last Election16:3
Party17:Social Liberal Party (Brazil)
Leader17:Luciano Bivar
Percentage17:0.47
Seats17:1
Last Election17:0
Party18:Party of National Mobilization
Percentage18:0.32
Seats18:1
Last Election18:2
Party19:PSDC
Percentage19:0.22
Seats19:1
Last Election19:0
Module:
Embed:yes
Election Name:Federal Senate
Seats For Election:54 of the 81 seats in the Senate
Election Date:6 October 2002
Party1:Workers' Party (Brazil)
Leader1:José Genoíno
Percentage1:22.03
Seats1:14
Last Election1:7
Party21:Liberal Front Party
Leader21:Jorge Bornhausen
Percentage21:18.49
Seats21:19
Last Election21:20
Party22:PMDB
Percentage22:16.40
Seats22:19
Last Election22:26
Party23:Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Leader23:José Aníbal
Percentage23:13.90
Seats23:11
Last Election23:16
Party24:Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
Percentage24:5.16
Seats24:5
Last Election24:4
Party25:PPB
Percentage25:4.49
Seats25:1
Last Election25:3
Party26:Brazilian Labour Party (current)
Color26:
  1. 7B7B7B
Leader26:Roberto Jefferson
Last Election26:1
Seats26:3
Percentage26:3.38
Party27:Liberal Party (Brazil, 1985)
Leader27:Valdemar Costa Neto
Percentage27:3.16
Seats27:3
Last Election27:0
Party28:PPS
Percentage28:3.07
Seats28:1
Last Election28:1
Party29:Brazilian Socialist Party
Percentage29:2.21
Seats29:4
Last Election29:3
Party30:Social Democratic Party (Brazil, 1987)
Percentage30:0.75
Seats30:1
Last Election30:0

General elections were held in Brazil on 6 October 2002, with a second round of the presidential election on 27 October. The elections were held in the midst of an economic crisis that began in the second term of the incumbent president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso of the centre-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). Due to constitutional term limits, Cardoso was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT), a former labor leader and federal deputy for São Paulo, ran for president for a fourth time. Lula had previously lost in the 1989, 1994, and 1998 presidential elections, being defeated by Cardoso in the latter two. Lula somewhat moderated his political approach in the 2002 presidential campaign, writing a document now known as the Letter to the Brazilian People to ease fears that he would transition Brazil into a full-fledged socialist economy.[1] Staying true to this turn to the center, Lula chose José Alencar, a millionaire textile businessman and Senator from Minas Gerais associated with the centre-right Liberal Party (PL), as his running mate.[2]

Following a tense intra-party battle over who would run to succeed Cardoso on the PSDB ticket, former Minister of Health José Serra was ultimately selected by the party to be its standard bearer for President in 2002.[3] Rita Camata, a federal deputy for Espírito Santo and member of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), was chosen as his running mate. In the beginning of the election cycle, Governor of Maranhão Roseana Sarney (PFL) looked to be the most viable centre-right candidate.[4] However, a corruption scandal forced Sarney out of the race, allowing the PSDB to remain the paramount centre-right force in the 2002 cycle.[5]

The election took place in the aftermath of an economic crisis that hit Brazil during Cardoso's second term.[6] Lula's pivot to the centre worked, picking up the support of key centrist and centre-right politicians such as former President José Sarney in the process.[7] In the first round, Lula would lead Serra by a wide margin, only failing to prevent a runoff because of votes that went to other left-wing candidates. In the second round, Lula would defeat Serra by a landslide, winning every state except for Alagoas.[8] In 2003, Lula took office as President of Brazil, becoming the first leftist elected to the office following the fall of the military dictatorship in Brazil.

Background

During the second term of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, a serious economic crisis began in Brazil as an impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[9] Commencing shortly after the 1998 elections, when Cardoso was re-elected, as a currency crisis, it resulted in a decrease in growth and employment rates and a rise in public debt.

In an environment of distrust and uncertainty for investment, many investors feared the measures that were going to be taken if a left-wing candidate won the election. As a matter of fact, when Workers' Party candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) would rise in the polls, the so-called "Brazil risk" index, which measures the confidence of investors in the country, would also rise.

The media called this the "Lula risk", indicating that if Lula was to win the election, the economy would fail. Lula was then forced to sign a text that became known as Carta aos Brasileiros (Letter to the Brazilian people), promising that if he won the election, he would not change the economic policy of Brazil. Many in the left-wing saw this as a shift to the center from Lula and his Workers' Party, which openly defended a transition to socialist economy in the 1989 presidential election.

Brazilian Social Democratic Party presidential candidate selection

With incumbent President Fernando Henrique Cardoso ineligible to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits, the dominant centre-right PSDB was forced to find a new candidate for the 2002 election. Given that Cardoso was elected with the help of a broad centre-right coalition, there existed fear among PSDB officials that another candidate would be unable to maintain his coalition.[10]

José Serra, who had served as Minister of Health under Cardoso, was eventually chosen as the party's nominee. Outgoing President Cardoso was initially favorable to the prospect of Governor of Ceará Tasso Jereissati serving as the PSDB's presidential nominee in 2002.[11] According to a report by The Economist, Jereissati enjoyed broader support among the PSDB's coalition partners than Serra, whose performance on the campaign trail was considered lackluster.[12] Additionally, some PSDB insiders and political scientists feared that Serra would perform poorly in the northeast, and believed that Jereissati would do better in the region owing to being from Ceará.[13]

In addition to Serra and Jereissati, who were the subject of most speculation, other potential PSDB candidates were speculated on, including members of the Cardoso administration. Economist and education official Paulo Renato Souza, who served as Cardoso's Minister of Education, was occasionally mentioned as a potential PSDB candidate, though he declined to run.[14] Pedro Malan, an economist who served as Minister of Finance under Cardoso, was also the subject of some 2002 speculation, though he similarly chose not to contest the election for the PSDB.[15]

Both Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin[16] and President of the Chamber of Deputies Aécio Neves[17] were also the subject of some media speculation, though neither entered the race; Alckmin would later represent the PSDB in the 2006 and 2018 presidential elections, while Neves would be the party's presidential candidate in 2014.

Workers' Party presidential candidate selection

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, was a fixture of the Brazilian Left going into the 2002 election. Well-known for his role in the 1980 steelworkers' strike, the former labor leader and federal deputy for São Paulo served as the PT's presidential candidate in 1989, 1994, and 1998. Nevertheless, Lula faced some opposition within his own party, who felt that he shouldn't lead the party after losing the past three presidential elections. Senator Eduardo Suplicy of São Paulo contested the nomination for as the candidacy of the PT.[18] [19] [20] Suplicy was well-known for being an early supporter of a universal basic income,[21] [22] and party leadership encouraged his participation in the party's preliminary election to mobilize and unite the party's base.[23] Suplicy would lose to Lula with just over 15% of the preliminary vote.[24] During the campaign, Suplicy accused party leadership of favoring Lula, publicly demanding that pro-Lula party president José Dirceu be impartial in the election.[25] Former Governor of the Federal District Cristovam Buarque was named as a possible centrist challenger to Lula in the PT preliminary election.[26] [27] Buarque, who had supported Democratic Labour Party (PDT) candidate Leonel Brizola rather than Lula in the 1989 presidential election,[28] was known for his independence from party leadership. A member of the party's moderate wing, he was an early supporter of PT moving to the political centre, advocating for privatization of some state industries.[29] Buarque ended up not running for President, and would join Lula's administration as Minister of Education in 2003,[30] before leaving the party altogether and running for president in the 2006 election under the PDT.

On the other hand, some members of the party's left-wing who felt Lula that was too moderate urged Mayor of Belém Edmilson Rodrigues to contest the party' nomination.[31] [32] Edmilson did not end up running for the party's nomination, and would later leave the party to join the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL).[33]

Presidential candidates

Candidates in the runoff

PartyCandidateMost relevant political office or occupationPartyRunning mateCoalitionElectoral number
Workers' Party (PT)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Member of the Chamber of Deputies from São Paulo
(1987–1991)
Liberal Party (PL)
José Alencar
Lula President 13
Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB)
José Serra
Minister of Health of Brazil
(1998–2002)
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)
Rita Camata
Great Alliance 45

Candidates failing to make the runoff

PartyCandidateMost relevant political office or occupationPartyRunning mateCoalitionElectoral number
United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU)
José Maria de Almeida
PSTU National President
(since 1993)
United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU)
Dayse Oliveira
16
Popular Socialist Party (PPS)
Ciro Gomes
Governor of Ceará
(1991–1994)
Democratic Labour Party (PDT)
Paulo Pereira da Silva
Labour Front 23
Workers' Cause Party (PCO)
Rui Costa Pimenta
PCO National President
(since 1995)
Workers' Cause Party (PCO)Pedro Paulo de Abreu29
Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)
Anthony Garotinho
Governor of Rio de Janeiro
(1999–2002)
Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)José Antonio AlmeidaBrazil Hope Front 40

Results

Senate

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Folha Online - Brasil - Leia íntegra da carta de Lula para acalmar o mercado financeiro - 24/06/2002. 2020-12-04. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  2. Web site: 2011-04-01. José Alencar obituary. 2020-12-04. the Guardian. en.
  3. Web site: Eleições 2002: uma olhar sobre os presidenciáveis - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  4. Web site: Folha de S.Paulo - Eleições - 2002: Lula e Roseana têm empate técnico em 1º. 2020-12-04. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  5. Web site: Sarney candidacy in jeopardy. 2020-12-04. UPI. en.
  6. Web site: Correio Braziliense. 20 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20021017075134/http://www2.correioweb.com.br/cw/EDICAO_20020929/pri_tem_290902_190.htm. 2002-10-17.
  7. Web site: Brazil's former President Sarney declares support for Lula. 2020-12-04. MercoPress. en.
  8. Web site: 2010-04-16. Serra visita o único estado no qual venceu Lula em 2002. 2020-12-04. Blog do Ricardo Mota. pt-BR.
  9. Web site: Correio Braziliense. 20 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20021017075134/http://www2.correioweb.com.br/cw/EDICAO_20020929/pri_tem_290902_190.htm. 2002-10-17.
  10. Web site: Eleições 2002: uma olhar sobre os presidenciáveis - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  11. Web site: FHC diz que Tasso é o mais viável para 2002 no momento - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  12. News: 2002-08-15. Que sera, Serra. The Economist. 2020-12-04. 0013-0613.
  13. Web site: Com economia ruim, Malan seria opção do PSDB em 2002, diz analista - Política. 2020-12-05. Estadão. pt-BR.
  14. Web site: Paulo Renato nega candidatura à Presidência da República - Diário do Grande ABC - Notícias e informações do Grande ABC: política. 2020-12-04. Jornal Diário do Grande ABC. pt-BR.
  15. Web site: Com economia ruim, Malan seria opção do PSDB em 2002, diz analista - Política. 2020-12-05. Estadão. pt-BR.
  16. Web site: Eleições 2002: uma olhar sobre os presidenciáveis - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  17. Web site: Aécio diz que não será candidato em 2002 - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  18. Web site: Folha de S.Paulo - Rumo a 2002: Sou candidato a presidente, diz Suplicy - 09/11/2000. 2020-12-03. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  19. Web site: Suplicy treina para prévias do PT – Correio do Brasil. 2020-12-04. pt-BR.
  20. Amaral. Oswaldo E. Do. Power. Timothy J.. February 2016. The PT at 35: Revisiting Scholarly Interpretations of the Brazilian Workers' Party. Journal of Latin American Studies. en. 48. 1. 147–171. 10.1017/S0022216X15001200. 0022-216X. free.
  21. Web site: PLS 266/2001 - Senado Federal. 2020-12-03. www25.senado.leg.br.
  22. Web site: Matthews. Dylan. 2019-10-30. More than 50,000 people are set to get a basic income in a Brazilian city. 2020-12-03. Vox. en.
  23. Web site: Folha de S.Paulo - Rumo a 2002: PT aposta em prévias para reforçar candidatura Lula - 07/01/2001. 2020-12-03. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  24. Web site: UOL Últimas Notícias - Lula vence prévia com folga e campanha do PT deve ganha fôlego 20/03/2002 - 18h10. 2020-12-03. noticias.uol.com.br.
  25. Web site: PT pode incluir mais um em prévia para 2002 - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  26. Web site: Folha de S.Paulo - Rumo a 2002: PT aposta em prévias para reforçar candidatura Lula - 07/01/2001. 2020-12-03. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  27. News: 2002-05-16. Who's afraid of Lula?. The Economist. 2020-12-03. 0013-0613.
  28. Web site: Cristovam Buarque declara que votou em Brizola em 89. 2020-12-03. Carta Maior. pt-br.
  29. Web site: 1999-11-23. POLITICS-BRAZIL: Workers Party Wrestles with Ideology. 2020-12-03. Inter Press Service.
  30. Web site: Folha Online - Brasil - Leia íntegra do discurso de Cristovam Buarque, ministro da Educação - 03/01/2003. 2020-12-03. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  31. Web site: PT pode incluir mais um em prévia para 2002 - Política. 2020-12-04. Estadão. pt-BR.
  32. Web site: Londrina. Folha de. Lula faz pressão para fugir das prévias do PT. 2020-12-04. Folha de Londrina. pt.
  33. Web site: 2020-11-29. Edmilson Rodrigues vence Eguchi e Psol comandará Belém. 2020-12-04. Poder360. pt-br.