Brazilian presidential election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The Brazil
ian general elections of 2006 were held in two rounds. The first one happened on October 1, in which eligible voters chose all members of the Chamber of Deputies
, one-third (27 seats) of the Federal Senate
, and members of the Legislative Assemblies of the 26 states and the Federal District
. They also voted for President
and for all state governors.
After no majority was secured by either presidential candidate in the first round, a second round was held on October 29 between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
and his challenger, Geraldo Alckmin
. This second round was also held in 10 states where no governor candidate achieved majority. Lula won the second round with over 60% of the valid votes and secured a new four-year term.
by the Supreme Electoral Court
.
The 2006 election was held amid a clear reorganization of the political forces of the country. After three failed attempts, Workers' Party candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was eventually elected President. The financial market feared his government would be a threat to the new-found economic stability. Lula, once considered a member of the radical left wing, implemented unorthodox neoliberal policies on the economic field, resembling the Fernando Henrique Cardoso
administration, but not succumbing, however, to privatization
pressures. On the social field, Lula gained notice for Fome Zero
, a successful measure to eradicate extreme poverty.
The Workers' Party was, thus, deemed less socialist and more social democratic. As the party moved deeper into the centre-left spectrum, allying with centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, a series of complaints were made by members of its far left factions, which accused it of betraying its ideals and founding charter. Despite the discredit of the Workers' Party among traditional leftists, they strongly supported Lula as the real left wing alternative. The Brazilian Communist Party
, for instance, supported Lula on the second round, unlike its presidential candidate Heloísa Helena
, informing its members of the alleged regression Geraldo Alckmin
would represent if elected.
For this election, the opposition emphasized the wear off of Lula because of the Mensalão scandal
, that involved the bribing of parliament members by the ruling coalition, which had been widely reported on the mass media since mid 2005. This wear off, however, appealed only to middle-class voters.
Two former members of the Workers' Party, Cristovam Buarque
and Heloísa Helena, launched their candidacies as "alternative left" candidates for the Democratic Labour Party
and the Socialism and Freedom Party
, respectively. They once discussed the possibility of forming a coalition themselves. Both parties were criticised by the left on the second round for not supporting Lula.
The campaign for void voting reached its peak on the 2006 election, with MTV Brasil
(unlike its American branch
, which advocates voting initiatives like Rock the Vote
among younger audiences) becoming the first TV network to officially support it.
The presidential candidates for the 2006 general election were:
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian general elections of 2006 were held in two rounds. The first one happened on October 1, in which eligible voters chose all members of the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. As of 2006, the chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms...
, one-third (27 seats) of the Federal Senate
Senate of Brazil
The Federal Senate of Brazil is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, it was inspired by the United Kingdom's House of Lords, but with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 it became closer to the United States...
, and members of the Legislative Assemblies of the 26 states and the Federal District
Brazilian Federal District
The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...
. They also voted for President
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
and for all state governors.
After no majority was secured by either presidential candidate in the first round, a second round was held on October 29 between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
and his challenger, Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
. This second round was also held in 10 states where no governor candidate achieved majority. Lula won the second round with over 60% of the valid votes and secured a new four-year term.
Background
The 2006 elections were the last marked by the now extinct "verticalization rule", that forced parties to ally on the state level with the same parties for which they were allied nationwide. This rule was introduced at the 2002 general electionsBrazilian general election, 2002
Lula's Worker's Party won the most seats in the Parliamentary elections, though failed to gain an outright majority as they won only 91 of the 513 seats.-Results:...
by the Supreme Electoral Court
Supreme Electoral Court (Brazil)
The Supreme Electoral Court is the highest body of the Brazilian Electoral Court. There are also Regional Electoral Courts and Electoral Registry offices spread throughout Brazil....
.
The 2006 election was held amid a clear reorganization of the political forces of the country. After three failed attempts, Workers' Party candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was eventually elected President. The financial market feared his government would be a threat to the new-found economic stability. Lula, once considered a member of the radical left wing, implemented unorthodox neoliberal policies on the economic field, resembling the Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
administration, but not succumbing, however, to privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
pressures. On the social field, Lula gained notice for Fome Zero
Fome Zero
Fome Zero is a Brazilian government program introduced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2003, with the objective to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty in Brazil.-Contents of the program:...
, a successful measure to eradicate extreme poverty.
The Workers' Party was, thus, deemed less socialist and more social democratic. As the party moved deeper into the centre-left spectrum, allying with centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, a series of complaints were made by members of its far left factions, which accused it of betraying its ideals and founding charter. Despite the discredit of the Workers' Party among traditional leftists, they strongly supported Lula as the real left wing alternative. The Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party is the oldest political party still active in Brazil, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties with a Stalinist orientation...
, for instance, supported Lula on the second round, unlike its presidential candidate Heloísa Helena
Heloísa Helena (politician)
Heloísa Helena Lima de Moraes Carvalho is a left-wing politician in Brazil.-Career:A trained nurse, Helena helped founding the Center of Health at the Federal University of Alagoas. She was also involved in the student movements against the military dictatorship...
, informing its members of the alleged regression Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
would represent if elected.
For this election, the opposition emphasized the wear off of Lula because of the Mensalão scandal
Mensalão scandal
The Mensalão scandal took place in Brazil in 2005 and threatened to bring down the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Mensalão is a neologism and variant of the word for "big monthly payment"...
, that involved the bribing of parliament members by the ruling coalition, which had been widely reported on the mass media since mid 2005. This wear off, however, appealed only to middle-class voters.
Two former members of the Workers' Party, Cristovam Buarque
Cristovam Buarque
Cristovam Ricardo Cavalcanti Buarque is a Brazilian politician and university professor, member of Democratic Labour Party . He is married and has two children.-Biography:Buarque graduated in mechanical engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco...
and Heloísa Helena, launched their candidacies as "alternative left" candidates for the Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party
The Democratic Labour Party is a name used by many political parties:* Democratic Labour Party * Democratic Labour Party * Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania* Democratic Labour Party...
and the Socialism and Freedom Party
Socialism and Freedom Party
The Socialism and Freedom Party is a Brazilian political party . Among the party leaders are Heloísa Helena , federal deputies Luciana Genro and Babá , and a number of well-known Brazilian left-wing leaders and intellectuals, such as Milton Temer, Carlos Nelson Coutinho, Ricardo Antunes,...
, respectively. They once discussed the possibility of forming a coalition themselves. Both parties were criticised by the left on the second round for not supporting Lula.
The campaign for void voting reached its peak on the 2006 election, with MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil is the Brazilian version of MTV, owned by Abril Mídia, the nation's largest magazine publisher, under license from Viacom - owned MTV Networks Latin AmericaMTV Brasil is one of two versions of MTV available in free-to-air terrestrial television...
(unlike its American branch
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, which advocates voting initiatives like Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
among younger audiences) becoming the first TV network to officially support it.
Presidential election
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaLuiz Inácio Lula da SilvaLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
from the Workers' PartyWorkers' Party (Brazil)The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
– elected in 2002. His running mate was incumbent Vice President José AlencarJosé AlencarJosé Alencar Gomes da Silva , also known as José Alencar, the Strong, was a Brazilian businessman and politician, and the Vice President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010. In business since a young age, Alencar was a self-made multimillionaire, as the chief executive of Coteminas, after working as...
of the Brazilian Republican PartyBrazilian Republican PartyThe Brazilian Republican Party is a Brazilian political party. Its electoral number is 10 and it became a registered political party on August 25, 2005. The Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus uses the party to elect its bishops in Brazilian elections...
. His coalition, The Strength of the People, also included the Communist Party of BrazilCommunist Party of BrazilThe Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and students movements. PCdoB dispute with the Brazilian Communist Party the title of "oldest political party in Brazil"...
, and was informally supported by the LiberalLiberal Party (Brazil)The Liberal Party was a conservative political party of Brazil, merged in the Republic Party. The Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus had been taking part in Brazilian elections through PL, but the church has now partially left it to create a new centrist party named Partido Republicano Brasileiro...
and SocialistBrazilian Socialist PartyThe Brazilian Socialist Party , is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organized in 1985 with the re-democratization of Brazil. It elected six Governors in 2010, becoming the second largest party in number of state...
parties.
- Geraldo AlckminGeraldo AlckminGeraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
from the Brazilian Social Democratic Party – After primaries between Alckmin, then governor of São PauloSão Paulo (state)São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, and 2002 presidential candidate José SerraJosé SerraJosé Serra is a Brazilian politician, former secretary of state, congressman, senator, minister of Planning and Minister of Health, mayor of São Paulo and Governor of São Paulo state.-Background:...
, the main opposition party chose the former as its official nomination. Senator José Jorge from the Liberal Front PartyDemocrats (Brazil)The Democrats is a centre-right political party in Brazil, considered the main in the right-wing spectrum. Despite its former name , the party affiliates itself to the Centrist Democrat International, and the International Democrat Union. The name comes from its support to free market policies...
(currently Democrats) was Alckmin's running mate. The Popular Socialist PartySocialist People's Party (Brazil)The Socialist People's Party is a political party in Brazil.It was founded in 1992, after the Brazilian Communist Party decided to rename itself the Socialist People's Party as part of a political realignment following the collapse of the Soviet Union.The PPS was a part of the coalition government...
supported the bid, but did not take part in the coalition with the two parties on a national level.
- Heloísa HelenaHeloísa Helena (politician)Heloísa Helena Lima de Moraes Carvalho is a left-wing politician in Brazil.-Career:A trained nurse, Helena helped founding the Center of Health at the Federal University of Alagoas. She was also involved in the student movements against the military dictatorship...
from the Socialism and Freedom PartySocialism and Freedom PartyThe Socialism and Freedom Party is a Brazilian political party . Among the party leaders are Heloísa Helena , federal deputies Luciana Genro and Babá , and a number of well-known Brazilian left-wing leaders and intellectuals, such as Milton Temer, Carlos Nelson Coutinho, Ricardo Antunes,...
– Then AlagoasAlagoasAlagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...
Senator Heloísa Helena founded the Socialism and Freedom Party and announced her candidacy after her widely headlined expulsion from the Workers' Party for voting against the government. Her running mate was economist César Benjamin. The Socialism and Freedom Party formed a national coalition, the Left Front, with the United Socialist Workers' PartyUnited Socialist Workers' PartyThe Unified Socialist Workers' Party is a Trotskyist organisation in Brazil. It is the largest section of the International Workers' League , an international body of groups in the Morenoist tradition....
and the Brazilian Communist Party.
- Cristovam BuarqueCristovam BuarqueCristovam Ricardo Cavalcanti Buarque is a Brazilian politician and university professor, member of Democratic Labour Party . He is married and has two children.-Biography:Buarque graduated in mechanical engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco...
from the Democratic Labour PartyDemocratic Labour Party (Brazil)The Democratic Labour Party is a populist, democratic socialist political party of Brazil. It was founded in 1979 by left-wing leader Leonel Brizola as an attempt to reorganize the Brazilian leftist forces during the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship...
– Buarque, a Senator for the Federal District, left the Workers' Party after disagreements with its leaders in 2005. He acted as Lula's first Education Minister, but was replaced by Tarso GenroTarso GenroTarso Fernando Herz Genro is a Brazilian politician, and a member of the Workers' Party . As a result of the Mensalão scandal, Genro served the remainder of José Genoíno's term as party president in 2005...
. His party had been a longtime partner of the Workers' Party, but they were estranged after the mensalão crisis. His running mate was Jefferson PeresJefferson PeresJefferson Peres was a Brazilian professor and politician, member of the Brazilian Senate from 1995....
, a now deceased Amazonas Senator from the same party.
- Luciano BivarLuciano BivarLuciano Bivar was the PSL candidate for the 2006 Brazilian presidential election. His political platform included projects such as the end of income tax in favour of a unique tax on products and services, and also building military barracks in Brazilian favelas...
from the Social Liberal PartySocial Liberal Party (Brazil)The Social Liberal Party is a liberal party in Brazil. At the legislative elections, 6 October 2002, the party won 1 out of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and no seats in the Senate. In 2006 didn't win seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate...
(PSL) – Businessman Bivar ran for president on smaller Social Liberal Party. Retired judge Américo de Souza was his running mate.
- José Maria EymaelJosé Maria EymaelJosé Maria Eymael is a Bazillian politician, lawyer, and businessman, and founder of the Partido Social Democrata Cristão , known in English as the Christian Social Democratic Party.-Political Biography:...
from the Christian Social Democratic PartyChristian Social Democratic PartyThe Christian Social Democratic Party is a Christian-Socialist-Democratic political party in Brazil.At the legislative elections, 6 October 2002, the party won 1 out of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and no seats in the Senate. The party lost all representation in the Congress in the 2006...
– Eymal ran for president for the second time, the first being on 1998. José Paulo Neto was his vice presidential nominee.
- Ana Maria RangelAna Maria RangelAna Maria Rangel is a Brazilian politician and was the Progressive Republican Party presidential candidate in 2006. Rangel was, alongside Heloísa Helena, the first female candidate to run for President of Brazil. She had no political background other than completing a major in political...
from the Progressive Republican PartyProgressive Republican Party (Brazil)The Progressive Republican Party is a Brazilian political party. Its electoral number is 44 and it became a registered political party on November 22, 1991....
– Rangel was a last minute appointment for the small party.
- Rui Costa PimentaRui Costa PimentaRui Costa Pimenta is a Brazilian politician aligned with the Trotskyist Partido da Causa Operária .He was their candidate in the Brazilian presidential election, 2010.- References :...
from the Workers' Cause Party – The far left Trotskyist party, once a faction of the Workers' Party, tried to launch journalist Pimenta as its presidential candidate for the second time, but his candidacy was rejected by the Superior Electoral Court.