Impeachment of Fernando Collor

Impeachment of Fernando Collor
Fernando Collor leaves the presidency.
Accused	Fernando Collor de Mello, President of Brazil
Date	29 September 1992 – 29 December 1992 (3 months)
Outcome	Concluded by impeachment on December 29, 1992 Consequences: Collor lost his political rights for 8 years and Vice-President Itamar Franco assumed office.
Charges	Crime of liability
Congressional votes
Voting in the Chamber of Deputies committee
Votes in favor	16
Votes against	5
Result	Approved
Voting in the Chamber of Deputies
Votes in favor	441
Votes against	38
Not voting	1
Result	Approved
Voting in the Senate committee
Votes in favor	32
Votes against	1
Not voting	1
Result	Approved
Voting in the Federal Senate
Votes in favor	76
Votes against	2
Result	Approved

The impeachment of Fernando Collor, the 32th president of Brazil, began on 29 September 1992, when the Chamber of Deputies approved the opening of impeachment procedures with 441 votes in favour. On 29 December 1992, when the trial began in the Federal Senate, Collor resigned in a letter read out by lawyer José Moura Rocha to avoid impeachment. However, the following day, Collor was sentenced to be disqualified from holding public office for eight years by 76 votes in favour and 2 against. It was Brazil's third impeachment trial; in 1955, Presidents Carlos Luz and Café Filho were also impeached.^[1][2][3]

During the political campaign for the 1989 elections, Paulo César Farias was treasurer of the presidential team of Fernando Collor de Mello and Itamar Franco. After the victory, PC Farias became involved in several areas of government and organized and led a huge corruption scheme. In an interview with Veja magazine in May 1992, Pedro Collor denounced Fernando Collor for being directly involved in the PC Farias Scheme. The investigation revealed that those involved collected around 15 million reais and spent more than a billion reais during Fernando Collor's government.^[4][5]