ABSTRACT
José Sarney, President of Brazil 1985-1990, was a member of the pro-military Aliança Renovadora Nacional party under the military government and subsequently leader of its conservative splinter-group, the Partido Democrático Social. Chosen as vice-presidential candidate in a bargain with the more liberal opposition Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, he became acting President of Brazil on 15 March 1985 when Tancredo Neves, the first civilian to be elected President after the long period of military rule, was taken ill on the morning of his inauguration. One month later Neves died. Sarney tried to implement the programme Neves had proposed, introduced the Cruzado Plan of 1986 in an effort to stabilize the economy and summoned a National Constituent Assembly to produce a more democratic Constitution, which it did in 1988. However, he remained distrusted for his military connections and his failure to maintain the Cruzado Plan. His period of office was marked by bitter political infighting and continued economic crisis.
