Jose Sarney Costa

José Sarney Costa 1930-, Brazilian politician, president of Brazil (1985-90). He served as a federal deputy (1958-64), governor of Maranhâo (1965-70), and federal senator (1970-84). He became vice president in the elections (1985) ending military rule, and was sworn in as president upon the death of President-elect Neves (Apr., 1985). The nascent democracy over which he presided faced severe problems including a massive foreign debt, massive inflation, endemic unemployment, poverty, and social injustice. During his term, a Constituent Assembly wrote a new democratic constitution. He was succeeded by Fernando Collor de Mello . Sarney again served in the Brazilian senate after his presidency, and was twice elected (1995, 2003) senate president.

Sarney Costa, José (b. 1930). Brazilian President 1985–90 Originally a member of the nationalist Uniao Democrática Nacional (UDN, National Democratic Union) founded in opposition to Vargas, during the years of the military dictatorship (1964–85) he became governor of Maranhão (in 1965) and a member of the Senate. In 1985, when the military returned power to democratic government, he became the running-mate of Tancredo Neves, who was elected President. However, Neves died before taking office, so that ironically Sarney, a protégé of the military regime, became Brazil's first guarantor of democratic government after twenty-one years of military rule. Unable to tackle his country's crippling economic, financial, and social problems, he made them worse through his indecisiveness. Inflation soared from 227 per cent in 1985 to almost 1,500 per cent in 1990, while GDP per capita remained stationary overall. He was unable to renegotiate the country's enormous foreign debt, which was the highest in the developing world. Finally, he failed in his attempt to carry out a reform of labour representation to destroy its neo-corporatist structures and make the labour market more dynamic and flexible.