Early activities Sarney started his political career in the 1950s after becoming a replacement deputy and later as a federal deputy in 1955. He was a member of the centre-right
National Democratic Union (União Democrática Nacional—UDN), aligned with the progressive wing of the party. He was elected governor of the state of
Maranhão in 1966, serving until 1971. In 1979 ARENA reorganized as the
Democratic Social Party (PDS), and Sarney remained the party's president. In 1984, the junta was under pressure due to popular protests to reinstate direct elections for president (
Diretas Já movement). Sarney disagreed with this decision and left PDS to form the
Liberal Front Party, which then allied with the PMDB. As part of the deal, Sarney became
Tancredo Neves' running mate on the opposition ticket. Neves won the
election of 15 January 1985, but became gravely ill the night before his inauguration.
Presidency His succession raised some question because as Neves could not attend the inauguration ceremony on 15 March, several politicians contended at the time that Sarney should not have been inaugurated as vice-president and allowed to become acting president. Some critics argued that in the event of the head of the presidential ticket not being able to assume office, the presidential powers and duties should pass to the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies,
Ulysses Guimarães. As first steps, they agreed to subsidize regional trade with a special currency for the purpose (the
Gaucho). The agreement led to the formation of the
Mercosur in 1991. He also oversaw constitutional amendments that purged the remaining vestiges of authoritarianism from the 1967/1969 Constitution. Sarney faced many problems: enormous
foreign debt, rampant inflation and corruption as well as the transition to democracy. The inflation worsened however under Sarney's Plano Cruzado. He returned to the Senate after his presidency, this time representing
Amapá, and served as President of the Senate from 1995 to 1997, 2003 to 2005, 2009 to 2011, and 2011 to 2013. He retired from politics in 2015 and was the longest-serving member of the
Brazilian Congress at the time of his retirement. His retirement was noted by
The New York Times as a "decline of a political dynasty" which would cause a political shift in the country. Sarney has also faced multiple allegations of
nepotism and corruption in his career. In 2009, the British weekly
The Economist called his election as
President of the Senate "a victory for semi-
feudalism" and "a throwback to an era of semi-feudal politics that still prevails in corners of Brazil and holds the rest of it back."
Veja columnist Roberto Pompeu de Toledo deemed him "the perfect
oligarch". Sérgio Machado, former president of
Transpetro, said in his plea agreement within the
Operation Car Wash that Sarney received R$18.5 million of the bribe money from a
Petrobras subsidiary, in the PMDB account during the period in which he directed the company (2003–2015).
Electoral history ==Personal life==