Sarney defends his legacy and denies having nominated "Juquinha"

247 – One can say anything about former president José Sarney, except that he lacks zeal for communication. Moments after the publication of our headline. "Sarney is expensive"The Senate's communications office, headed by journalist Fernando César Mesquita, issued a statement denying that the senator had nominated José Francisco das Neves for Valec and also highlighting positive aspects of his time as President of the Republic. See the arguments below:

To Brazil 247

Dear Editor,

             Misleading information about President José Sarney, published in the article “Juquinha confirms the obvious: Sarney is expensive. These issues could have been avoided if this esteemed publication had considered the official statement that this Secretariat issued yesterday (July 06.07th) to the entire press, namely:

"We clarify that the news published today in Folha de São Paulo, which states that Mr. José Francisco Neves...", is completely unfounded.He joined the state-owned company (Valec) with Sarney's approval. 

President José Sarney had no involvement, did not nominate, nor was he even consulted, regarding the appointment of this gentleman to the presidency of Valec Engenharia, Construções e Ferrovias SA.”

Regarding the claim that operations by the Federal Police "They were suppressed by the father (José Sarney)," the website This is an affront to one of the most serious and competent institutions in the country.

Finally, regarding the assessment of José Sarney's government, history itself disproves the aggression. However, it is worth noting, out of respect for the readers of Brasil 247, some achievements of the New Republic government:

Political and institutional stability and concern for social issues.

As demonstrated by Senate consultant Pedro Costa in his book "Twenty Years of Democracy," "José Sarney competently took command of the redemocratization process, freeing party politics from the shackles of authoritarianism and convening the Constituent Assembly. During his five years in government, institutions were solidified, a fundamental condition for economic and social stability. Elections took place in absolute tranquility. The press had never been so free. For the first time, Brazilians considered themselves citizens, masters of their rights. The 'Everything for Social Welfare' option reflected the commitment to turning the State towards the most humble, such as the universalization of healthcare, anticipating the social policies that are now successful in the Lula and Dilma governments. The Milk Program symbolizes, in its numbers, the gigantic effort that was made: 1 billion and 300 million liters distributed to 7,6 million families. The meal voucher program had 18 million beneficiaries per day; the transportation voucher program, 26 million." Unemployment insurance was created. 58 million children began receiving daily school meals. The CEME basic pharmacy reached 50 million people. The agrarian reform, instituted in 1965, finally began to become a reality. The irrigated area increased by 1 million hectares. Agriculture became a challenge for the government. Scientific research, receiving unconditional support—133 scholarships were awarded, more than in all previous years of the CNPq combined—achieved important results in uranium enrichment and the mastery of heavy water, with optical and carbon fibers, and high-power lasers. IBAMA was created and the systematic defense of the environment began. The Calha Norte project marked our sovereignty over the Amazon. Concerned about Brazil,

The legacy of debt and actions undertaken with sovereignty.

Sarney was also forced to negotiate the "moratorium" on sovereign terms, given the explosive legacy of financial shenanigans that had been going on since Juscelino Kubitschek's presidency and were maximized by the military regime. This fact, strangely, did not receive support from the left at the time, nor, as is well known, from the media. But, even having to manage the issue of the external debt crisis – which was not a uniquely Brazilian phenomenon, as it affected several countries and originated from interest rates increased randomly and unilaterally by the US since 1971 – what Professor Riordan Roett seems unaware of is that, from 1985 to 1990, Brazil did not have a deficit in its balance of payments. At that time, we had a significant shipbuilding industry, we exported ships, we practically paid no freight costs; exchange controls, a mechanism that no developed country relinquishes, were an important element in containing foreign exchange losses; Furthermore, there was no subservience from the Federal Government to multilateral entities, such as the IMF, that would impose absurdities on us, like the requirement of a fiscal surplus and the automatic transfer of our taxes and contributions to pay fictitious debts. Because of all this, the internal and external debts did not increase during the Sarney administration. The main state-owned companies, during the "New Republic," were not in deficit nor prohibited from investing in our infrastructure; in the five years of the Sarney administration there was no deficit in the balance of payments. The Brazilian government needed only 12 billion dollars in those five years. That is to say: Sarney hardly used external resources in 5 years, he did not increase the "debt." On the contrary, he saved money.

Transparency and control of public spending: new investments

Sarney brought transparency and control to public accounts. To this end, he created the Treasury Secretariat and the SIAFI system – still in effect today, one of the most important tools for controlling and monitoring public spending. Thus, the Banco do Brasil's current account, which allowed state governments to withdraw funds in cash, was eliminated, and the Union's budget was unified. On the other hand, regarding investments, if we compare today with what was done during the "New Republic," we will see that, in this aspect as well, the Sarney government period, even with immense political difficulties, fared quite well. The figures presented by the National Treasury to the Senate debate on Public-Private Partnerships show the series on Treasury investments and update federal government spending since 1980. Spending by state-owned enterprises is not considered. The Treasury updates the values ​​using the IGP-DI (an inflation index that more quickly captures price variations linked to the dollar). The survey results show that 2004 saw the lowest spending on public investments since 1984. It totaled R$ 6,9 billion in Lula's first year in office, compared to R$ 6,1 billion in the last full year of General João Figueiredo's term. The series shows that the best year for public investment was 1987, during the Sarney administration – R$ 21,7 billion in adjusted values. Therefore, the last major investment in highway rehabilitation, for example, was made during the Sarney administration, with the restoration of over 5 km, while subsequent governments prioritized the construction of new sections without investing in the maintenance of existing infrastructure.

Growth and full employment

For all these reasons, unlike what happened during the Cardoso administration, for example, the GDP during Sarney's time grew by an average of 17,44% per year. Over the entire period, it reached 119,20%. According to data from the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN) and the Finance and Investment Fund (FCV), per capita growth, that is, dividing the absolute GDP by the population, from 1985 to 1989, showed a real growth of 99,11%, unlike what occurred during the Collor/Itamar governments, with 22.06%; and especially during the first six years of Cardoso's presidency, a meager 1,18%. There was also growth and full employment—the GDP per capita in dollars doubled, reaching US$2.923 (in 2004 it was US$2.789), while unemployment was the lowest in our history (2,36%). The country was the 7th largest industrial power in the world. We had a trade surplus of $67 billion (compared to a deficit of $8 billion in the period 1995/2002). GDP increased from $189 billion to $415 billion, and external debt fell from 54% to 28% of GDP. Oil production increased from 2,7 to 8 billion barrels. The agricultural harvest increased from 50 to 60 million tons of grains. In the electricity sector, production increased by 24,1%, the number of consumers by 22,3%, and $29 billion was invested. The primary deficit of 2,58% of GDP was transformed into a surplus of 0,8%. As could not be otherwise, the average unemployment rate during the Sarney period, from 1985 to 1989, was only 3,95%, having reached 3,5% in 1989. Today, it reaches 20%. During the Collor/Itamar governments (1990 to 1994), the average was 5,05%; during Fernando Henrique's government, it only reached an average of 5,59% until the year 2000. After that, the rate spiraled out of control, reaching double digits since 2001.

Fernando Cesar Mesquita

Senate Social Communication Secretariat