2002 Brazilian general election

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.

2002 Brazilian general election

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Presidential election
6 October 2002 (first round) 27 October 2002 (second round)
Turnout	82.26% (first round) 79.53% (second round)
Candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva José Serra Party PT PSDB Alliance Lula President Great Alliance Running mate José Alencar Rita Camata Popular vote 52,793,364 33,370,739 Percentage 61.27% 38.73%
Second round, shaded accounding to vote share First round, shaded accounding to vote share Presidential election results
President before election Fernando Henrique Cardoso PSDB Elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva PT
Chamber of Deputies
6 October 2002
All 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 257 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats +/– PT José Genoíno 18.40 91 +33 PSDB José Aníbal 14.26 70 −29 PFL Jorge Bornhausen 13.38 84 −21 PMDB 13.37 76 −7 PPB 7.81 48 −12 PSB Anthony Garotinho 5.28 22 +3 PDT 5.12 21 −4 PTB Roberto Jefferson 4.63 26 −5 PL Valdemar Costa Neto 4.32 26 +14 PPS 3.07 15 +12 PCdoB 2.25 12 +5 PRONA Enéas Carneiro 2.06 6 +5 PV 1.35 5 +5 PSC 0.58 1 −2 PST 0.58 3 +2 PSD 0.52 4 +1 PSL Luciano Bivar 0.47 1 +1 PMN 0.32 1 −1 PSDC 0.22 1 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Federal Senate
6 October 2002
54 of the 81 seats in the Senate
Party Leader % Seats +/– PT José Genoíno 22.03 14 +7 PFL Jorge Bornhausen 18.49 19 −1 PMDB 16.40 19 −7 PSDB José Aníbal 13.90 11 −5 PDT 5.16 5 +1 PPB 4.49 1 −2 PTB Roberto Jefferson 3.38 3 +2 PL Valdemar Costa Neto 3.16 3 +3 PPS 3.07 1 0 PSB 2.21 4 +1 PSD 0.75 1 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

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

Party		Candidate	Most relevant political office or occupation	Party		Running mate	Coalition	Electoral 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^[a] Workers' Party (PT) Liberal Party (PL) Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) Party of National Mobilization (PMN) Brazilian Communist Party (PCB)	13
	Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB)	José Serra	Minister of Health of Brazil (1998–2002)		Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)	Rita Camata	Great Alliance^[b] Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)	45

Candidates failing to make the runoff

Party		Candidate	Most relevant political office or occupation	Party		Running mate	Coalition	Electoral 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 Popular Socialist Party (PPS) Democratic Labour Party (PDT) Brazilian Labour Party (PTB)	23
	Workers' Cause Party (PCO)	Rui Costa Pimenta	PCO National President (since 1995)		Workers' Cause Party (PCO)	Pedro Paulo de Abreu	—	29
	Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)	Anthony Garotinho	Governor of Rio de Janeiro (1999–2002)		Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)	José Antonio Almeida	Brazil Hope Front Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) Workers' General Party (PGT) Christian Labour Party (PTC)	40

Results

President

Candidate		Running mate	Party	First round		Second round
				Votes	%	Votes	%
	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	José Alencar (PL)	Workers' Party	39,455,233	46.44	52,793,364	61.27
	José Serra	Rita Camata (PMDB)	Brazilian Social Democratic Party	19,705,445	23.20	33,370,739	38.73
	Anthony Garotinho	José Antônio Figueiredo	Brazilian Socialist Party	15,180,097	17.87
	Ciro Gomes	Paulo Pereira da Silva (PDT)	Popular Socialist Party	10,170,882	11.97
	José Maria de Almeida	Dayse Oliveira	United Socialist Workers' Party	402,236	0.47
	Rui Costa Pimenta	Pedro Paulo de Abreu	Workers' Cause Party	38,619	0.05
Total				84,952,512	100.00	86,164,103	100.00
Valid votes				84,952,512	89.61	86,164,103	94.00
Invalid votes				6,976,685	7.36	3,772,138	4.12
Blank votes				2,873,753	3.03	1,727,760	1.88
Total votes				94,802,950	100.00	91,664,001	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				115,253,816	82.26	115,253,816	79.53
Source: Election Resources

Chamber of Deputies

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Workers' Party	16,094,080	18.40	91	+33
	Brazilian Social Democracy Party	12,473,743	14.26	70	–29
	Liberal Front Party	11,706,253	13.38	84	–21
	Brazilian Democratic Movement Party	11,691,526	13.37	76	–7
	Brazilian Progressive Party	6,828,375	7.81	48	–12
	Brazilian Socialist Party	4,616,674	5.28	22	+3
	Democratic Labour Party	4,482,538	5.12	21	–4
	Brazilian Labour Party	4,052,111	4.63	26	–5
	Liberal Party	3,780,930	4.32	26	+14
	Popular Socialist Party	2,682,487	3.07	15	+12
	Communist Party of Brazil	1,967,847	2.25	12	+5
	Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order	1,804,655	2.06	6	+5
	Green Party	1,179,374	1.35	5	+5
	Social Christian Party	504,611	0.58	1	–2
	Social Labour Party	504,044	0.58	3	+2
	Social Democratic Party	452,386	0.52	4	+1
	Social Liberal Party	408,512	0.47	1	0
	Brazilian Labour Renewal Party	304,092	0.35	0	0
	Humanist Party of Solidarity	294,928	0.34	0	0
	Party of National Mobilization	282,878	0.32	1	–1
	Progressive Republican Party	251,971	0.29	0	0
	Workers' General Party	194,686	0.22	0	0
	Christian Social Democratic Party	192,546	0.22	1	+1
	Labour Party of Brazil	168,639	0.19	0	0
	United Socialist Workers' Party	159,251	0.18	0	0
	Party of the Nation's Retirees	126,666	0.14	0	0
	National Labour Party	118,471	0.14	0	0
	Christian Labour Party	74,955	0.09	0	0
	Brazilian Communist Party	45,963	0.05	0	0
	Workers' Cause Party	29,351	0.03	0	0
Total		87,474,543	100.00	513	0
Valid votes		87,474,543	92.31
Invalid votes		2,811,943	2.97
Blank votes		4,476,906	4.72
Total votes		94,763,392	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		115,184,176	82.27
Source: Election Resources

Senate

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Won	Total	+/–
	Workers' Party	33,853,150	22.03	10	14	+7
	Liberal Front Party	28,408,415	18.49	14	19	–1
	Brazilian Democratic Movement Party	25,199,662	16.40	9	19	–7
	Brazilian Social Democracy Party	21,360,291	13.90	8	11	–5
	Democratic Labour Party	7,932,624	5.16	4	5	+1
	Brazilian Progressive Party	6,903,581	4.49	0	1	–2
	Communist Party of Brazil	6,199,237	4.03	0	0	0
	Brazilian Labour Party	5,190,032	3.38	2	3	+2
	Liberal Party	4,857,302	3.16	2	3	+3
	Popular Socialist Party	4,720,408	3.07	1	1	0
	Brazilian Socialist Party	3,389,139	2.21	3	4	+1
	Social Democratic Party	1,151,901	0.75	1	1	+1
	Social Labour Party	1,129,186	0.73	0	0	0
	Green Party	962,719	0.63	0	0	0
	United Socialist Workers' Party	490,251	0.32	0	0	0
	Party of National Mobilization	358,062	0.23	0	0	0
	Social Liberal Party	295,807	0.19	0	0	0
	Social Christian Party	293,463	0.19	0	0	0
	Workers' Cause Party	194,112	0.13	0	0	0
	Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order	145,016	0.09	0	0	0
	National Labour Party	107,122	0.07	0	0	0
	Workers' General Party	103,973	0.07	0	0	0
	Brazilian Communist Party	95,489	0.06	0	0	0
	Progressive Republican Party	90,502	0.06	0	0	0
	Party of the Nation's Retirees	76,798	0.05	0	0	0
	Humanist Party of Solidarity	76,274	0.05	0	0	0
	Christian Social Democratic Party	29,768	0.02	0	0	0
	Brazilian Labour Renewal Party	27,301	0.02	0	0	0
	Labour Party of Brazil	19,175	0.01	0	0	0
	Christian Labour Party	3,784	0.00	0	0	0
Total		153,664,544	100.00	54	81	0
Valid votes		153,664,544	81.08
Invalid votes		22,547,411	11.90
Blank votes		13,316,709	7.03
Total votes		189,528,664	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		115,184,176	164.54
Source: Election Resources, IPU

Notes

1. Unofficially supporting parties: Green Party (PV) and Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) in some states. Support in the second round: Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Democratic Labour Party (PDT), Brazilian Labour Party (PTB), Workers' General Party (PGT), Social Christian Party (PSC), Christian Labour Party (PTC) and Humanist Party of Solidarity (PHS).
2. Supporting parties in the second round: Liberal Front Party (PFL), Brazilian Progressive Party (PPB), Social Liberal Party (PSL), National Labour Party (PTN), Christian Social Democratic Party (PSDC), Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (PRTB), Social Democratic Party (PSD), Progressive Republican Party (PRP), Party of the Nation's Retirees (PAN) and Labour Party of Brazil (PTdoB).

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