New Republic, New Elections - A Brazilian TL
- Thread starter Taunay
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The butterflies will affect the entire world, so get ready for a (slightly) different planet and a very different South America 🤭
June 1990 - July 1990
Chapter 7
Of Cups and Companies
Logo of Engesa, one of the companies turned mixed-capital ventures by Lula
To solidify his control over the venture, on June 10, 1990, Lula bought a 75% stake of Engesa and Bernardini, with the intention of turning them into mixed-capital companies, giving his government more control over the Venezuelan Scheme. The owners of both companies quietly accepted state dominance over their business, after all, they were just as involved in that plot as Lula was.
This (almost) complete control over the Scheme was very benefitial to Lula and the military, they would both make millions by selling weapons to the Venezuelan Army, giving the two more resources to pursue their own goals.
When the first check arrived, on June 12, all the participants were ecstatic. The purchase was a much needed boost for Lula. Of the 9 million dollars received on the first military purchase, 4 million were given to Lula, 3 million to the Brazilian Armed Forces and the people involved in it and 2 million to other conspirators (Including Leônidas Gonçalves himself).
Of the 4 million that Lula received, he divided it between 2 million to bribe the most high-ranking officials so as to at least delay the impeachment proceedings, and other 2 million were spent in a rather... odd way.
Logo of the 1990 FIFA World Cup
The World Cup of 1990 was taking place at that moment, and as with everything related to the FIFA World Cups, Brazilians were paying a lot of attention to it. Brazil easily beat out its competitors at the group phases. Lula who wanted to increase national pride, covertly invested 2 million dollars in the Brazilian team, with a focus on the June 24 match between Argentina and Brazil.
Image of the match between Argentina and Brazil in 1990
Receiving 2 million dollars of secret funding, the team (who was also promised 10 million dollars by the government if they won the Cup) played hard and managed to defeat Argentina 2 X 1 in a historic game, with Müller and Careca scoring one goal each.
The celebrations continued as Brazil defeated Yugoslavia on June 30 in a 1 X 0 match, but unfortunately the country was defeated by Italy on July 3, in a 2 X 1 match.
It's a common joke that Lula was trying to give Brazil another World Cup, but keeping in mind the severe inflation, economic and political crises that Brazil was going through, it was necessary - at least for some - that Brazil kept its national pride intact, and what better way to do this than use the most popular sport in Brazil by far?
Of Cups and Companies
To solidify his control over the venture, on June 10, 1990, Lula bought a 75% stake of Engesa and Bernardini, with the intention of turning them into mixed-capital companies, giving his government more control over the Venezuelan Scheme. The owners of both companies quietly accepted state dominance over their business, after all, they were just as involved in that plot as Lula was.
This (almost) complete control over the Scheme was very benefitial to Lula and the military, they would both make millions by selling weapons to the Venezuelan Army, giving the two more resources to pursue their own goals.
When the first check arrived, on June 12, all the participants were ecstatic. The purchase was a much needed boost for Lula. Of the 9 million dollars received on the first military purchase, 4 million were given to Lula, 3 million to the Brazilian Armed Forces and the people involved in it and 2 million to other conspirators (Including Leônidas Gonçalves himself).
Of the 4 million that Lula received, he divided it between 2 million to bribe the most high-ranking officials so as to at least delay the impeachment proceedings, and other 2 million were spent in a rather... odd way.
Logo of the 1990 FIFA World Cup
The World Cup of 1990 was taking place at that moment, and as with everything related to the FIFA World Cups, Brazilians were paying a lot of attention to it. Brazil easily beat out its competitors at the group phases. Lula who wanted to increase national pride, covertly invested 2 million dollars in the Brazilian team, with a focus on the June 24 match between Argentina and Brazil.
Image of the match between Argentina and Brazil in 1990
Receiving 2 million dollars of secret funding, the team (who was also promised 10 million dollars by the government if they won the Cup) played hard and managed to defeat Argentina 2 X 1 in a historic game, with Müller and Careca scoring one goal each.
The celebrations continued as Brazil defeated Yugoslavia on June 30 in a 1 X 0 match, but unfortunately the country was defeated by Italy on July 3, in a 2 X 1 match.
It's a common joke that Lula was trying to give Brazil another World Cup, but keeping in mind the severe inflation, economic and political crises that Brazil was going through, it was necessary - at least for some - that Brazil kept its national pride intact, and what better way to do this than use the most popular sport in Brazil by far?
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Waiting to see when the first leaks show up in the newspapers.
Now that he has Congress in his pockets, he can pass a significant amount of his projects, although it's impossible for him to pass ALL of it.
On the railway grid, that's an interesting future idea, though I've no idea where the railway grid could be expanded
Here's a PDF with some info on how it was OTL in 90s when RFFSA was privatized, it includes some expansion plans.
July 1990 - August 1990
Chapter 8
Bills and Accomplishments
On August 2, 1990, one day after Congress resumed its activities, Lula introduced two important bills that were part of his 1989 program. Hoping to revive his sinking popularity, Lula tried to highlight those bills days prior to their introduction.
The first bill, the "Cuidados Universais" (Universal Care) Law, would establish and fund the construction of public laundromats, kindergartens and popular restaurants, guaranteeing that at least 0.5% of the budget would be spent to fund the provisions in the bill.
The second, the "Justiça igualitária" (Egalitarian Justice) Law, would mandate judicial gratuity for citizens who had a monthly income lower than the minimum wage. This would guarantee that those citizens would have access to the justice system without having to pay absurdly high prices for it.
Two weeks later, the verdict was given by the vote.
It was an astounding victory, with over 300 deputies and over 60 senators voting for both laws.
Infoboxes on both laws.
Those two bills had historic effects in Brazil. The construction of public facilities decreased unemployment (Although it had a short-term negative impact on inflation, increasing it even more to a whopping 60% in September 1990) and helped women - especially working-class women - who often did not have enough money to afford their own washing machine, or who couldn't help their child attend kindergarten because the waiting list was so big.
All in all, those two bills helped to decrease inequality and increase living standards in Brazil, even after being constantly attacked by conservatives and economic liberals.
Symbolically, it also meant the success of the Venezuelan Scheme. Lula paid most of the deputies and senators to vote in favor of both bills.
Bills and Accomplishments
On August 2, 1990, one day after Congress resumed its activities, Lula introduced two important bills that were part of his 1989 program. Hoping to revive his sinking popularity, Lula tried to highlight those bills days prior to their introduction.
The first bill, the "Cuidados Universais" (Universal Care) Law, would establish and fund the construction of public laundromats, kindergartens and popular restaurants, guaranteeing that at least 0.5% of the budget would be spent to fund the provisions in the bill.
The second, the "Justiça igualitária" (Egalitarian Justice) Law, would mandate judicial gratuity for citizens who had a monthly income lower than the minimum wage. This would guarantee that those citizens would have access to the justice system without having to pay absurdly high prices for it.
Two weeks later, the verdict was given by the vote.
It was an astounding victory, with over 300 deputies and over 60 senators voting for both laws.
Infoboxes on both laws.
Those two bills had historic effects in Brazil. The construction of public facilities decreased unemployment (Although it had a short-term negative impact on inflation, increasing it even more to a whopping 60% in September 1990) and helped women - especially working-class women - who often did not have enough money to afford their own washing machine, or who couldn't help their child attend kindergarten because the waiting list was so big.
All in all, those two bills helped to decrease inequality and increase living standards in Brazil, even after being constantly attacked by conservatives and economic liberals.
Symbolically, it also meant the success of the Venezuelan Scheme. Lula paid most of the deputies and senators to vote in favor of both bills.
August 1990 - October 1990
Chapter 9
Bills and Elections
Plínio de Arruda Sampaio in 1990
After the approval of those bills, Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, a 60-year old deputy who had been a member of PT ever since its founding in 1980, decided that he would run to the Senate instead of running for the Government of São Paulo[1]. The reason for that was due to his focus on making sure that Lula's government succeeded and was able to accomplish more.
Back to Lula's cabinet, it was decided that a new inflation plan would be done. Named the "Plano Ipê" (Named after the ipê-amarelo, the national tree of Brazil, whose name in English is yellow lapacho). The new inflation control program was presented on August 18, 1990 and would be implemented on August 30, 1990. It consisted basically of price controls, replacement of the currency by the ipê, indexation of taxes and high taxes on financial transactions. Lula trusted that the plan would work on reducing inflation and gave a speech detailing the benefits of the plan.
With inflation supposedly under control and a rising popularity rate, the President decided to once again continue to implement some of his reforms.
This time, he would raise the IPTU (A tax on urban properties) and make use of progressive taxation. The plan would consist of, by using census data, verify what were the wealthiest regions of each major city in Brazil, and increase taxes on properties located in the wealthiest regions (Especially those closer to the city center and with more access to public amenities). The project was presented on September 17, 1990, and would be voted on September 26, 1990. Making use of Venezuelan Scheme, a slight majority (Over 50% of each chamber) approved it. This also represented a major change in Brazilian history.
This helped to reduce urban inequality, as the extra tax money was spent on improving public services on poorer and more distant neighborhoods. Considered a victory for poorer Brazilians, the bill would remain in force up to the modern day, and even the most right-wing candidates have no appetite for ending it.
On October 3, 1990, the 1990 legislative elections finally happened. Lula hoped that with inflation seemingly under control his party would be able to achieve a major political victory, reducing the need for the continuation of the Venezuelan Scheme.
The reduction of inflation, that had continued for about one month now, was seen by many as a signal that maybe this WAS the inflation program that finally worked.
The MDB, who was split between those who vehemently denounced Lula and those who supported him, were unable to deal with this identity crisis.
The results for the elections were:
[2]
Lula was overjoyed with how successful his party was. Although PT still was a minority party, Lula could bargain with Congress much more effectively and put more pressure on it.
Plínio de Arruda Sampaio himself was elected Senator from São Paulo with a margin of over 300 thousand votes over his closest opponent. According to a Veja article published two days after the results of the election, "Brazil has now entered the time of the Left, where left-wing candidates dominate not only the Executive, but also the Legislative. It remains to be seen how damaging this shift will be to the economic situation of the nation".
Although inaccurate (Left-wing parties were still a minority in Congress), this article does show how the economic elite felt about the results of the 1990 legislative election. Having a larger base and with Venezuelan cash flowing more than ever, Lula felt like he had free rein to pass his projects.
[1] Another major POD: IOTL he ran for Governor of São Paulo in 1990 but ended up being defeated and did not even make it into the runoff
[2] The extra four Senate seats that PT wins in this timeline are, in alphabetical order: Amapá, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais and Pará.
The other four seats that PDT wins ITTL are: Acre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pernambuco and Tocantins.
Bills and Elections
Plínio de Arruda Sampaio in 1990
After the approval of those bills, Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, a 60-year old deputy who had been a member of PT ever since its founding in 1980, decided that he would run to the Senate instead of running for the Government of São Paulo[1]. The reason for that was due to his focus on making sure that Lula's government succeeded and was able to accomplish more.
Back to Lula's cabinet, it was decided that a new inflation plan would be done. Named the "Plano Ipê" (Named after the ipê-amarelo, the national tree of Brazil, whose name in English is yellow lapacho). The new inflation control program was presented on August 18, 1990 and would be implemented on August 30, 1990. It consisted basically of price controls, replacement of the currency by the ipê, indexation of taxes and high taxes on financial transactions. Lula trusted that the plan would work on reducing inflation and gave a speech detailing the benefits of the plan.
With inflation supposedly under control and a rising popularity rate, the President decided to once again continue to implement some of his reforms.
This time, he would raise the IPTU (A tax on urban properties) and make use of progressive taxation. The plan would consist of, by using census data, verify what were the wealthiest regions of each major city in Brazil, and increase taxes on properties located in the wealthiest regions (Especially those closer to the city center and with more access to public amenities). The project was presented on September 17, 1990, and would be voted on September 26, 1990. Making use of Venezuelan Scheme, a slight majority (Over 50% of each chamber) approved it. This also represented a major change in Brazilian history.
This helped to reduce urban inequality, as the extra tax money was spent on improving public services on poorer and more distant neighborhoods. Considered a victory for poorer Brazilians, the bill would remain in force up to the modern day, and even the most right-wing candidates have no appetite for ending it.
On October 3, 1990, the 1990 legislative elections finally happened. Lula hoped that with inflation seemingly under control his party would be able to achieve a major political victory, reducing the need for the continuation of the Venezuelan Scheme.
The reduction of inflation, that had continued for about one month now, was seen by many as a signal that maybe this WAS the inflation program that finally worked.
The MDB, who was split between those who vehemently denounced Lula and those who supported him, were unable to deal with this identity crisis.
The results for the elections were:
[2]
Lula was overjoyed with how successful his party was. Although PT still was a minority party, Lula could bargain with Congress much more effectively and put more pressure on it.
Plínio de Arruda Sampaio himself was elected Senator from São Paulo with a margin of over 300 thousand votes over his closest opponent. According to a Veja article published two days after the results of the election, "Brazil has now entered the time of the Left, where left-wing candidates dominate not only the Executive, but also the Legislative. It remains to be seen how damaging this shift will be to the economic situation of the nation".
Although inaccurate (Left-wing parties were still a minority in Congress), this article does show how the economic elite felt about the results of the 1990 legislative election. Having a larger base and with Venezuelan cash flowing more than ever, Lula felt like he had free rein to pass his projects.
[1] Another major POD: IOTL he ran for Governor of São Paulo in 1990 but ended up being defeated and did not even make it into the runoff
[2] The extra four Senate seats that PT wins in this timeline are, in alphabetical order: Amapá, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais and Pará.
The other four seats that PDT wins ITTL are: Acre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pernambuco and Tocantins.
He tried to shut down the Angra I and II in the start of his presidency, so he will end the program