Cristovam Buarque
Encyclopedia
Cristovam Ricardo Cavalcanti Buarque (in standard orthography, Cristóvão Ricardo Cavalcate Buarque; kɾisˈtɔvɐ̃ ˈbwaʁki; Recife
, February 20, 1944) is a Brazil
ian politician and university professor, member of Democratic Labour Party
(PDT). He is married and has two children.
from the Federal University of Pernambuco
(1966). At that time he engaged in student politics becoming a militant of the Ação Popular, a group of the Leftist Progressive Church. After the 1964 coup
, he was persecuted and took exile in France
, where he earned a PhD in economics from Sorbonne
(Paris
), in 1973. He worked at Inter-American Bank of Development (IDB) in Ecuador
, Honduras
and the United States
from 1973 to 79.
He was the first elected rector, by direct vote, of the University of Brasilia
in the wake of the military regime, governor of Distrito Federal, Minister of Education and currently senator, elected in a historic landslide. Author of ten books with several published articles. He worked as a consultant for several national and international bodies under the United Nations
(UN). Presided over the UN University for Peace
Council and participated on Food Presidential Commission, formerly directed by late Sociologist Herbert "Betinho" de Souza
.
Buarque is a member of Institute of Education
of UNESCO
. He created a NGO
Mission Child, which sponsors an income transfer program for thousands of families and is funded by private enterprises. He was awarded the Jabuti prize of Literature in 1995, in the “Humanities” category. He is a staunch defender of the “revolution… through education”, a line of thought touted by important Brazilian intellectuals, as Anísio Teixeira, Darcy Ribeiro
and Paulo Freire
. However, his stance on this subject should not be confused with that of those other thinkers, who – especially Freire – also envisioned a "revolution in education". Buarque’s approach is much more conventional, uncritical of traditional education.
Buarque is also a proposer of an alternative class analysis of modern capitalist societies. According to him, in modern capitalism, the increasing substitution of human labour for automated machines tends to make employed workers a privileged caste, while a new layer of “excluded” people – those who have no jobs, no insurance, no health care – is formed, whose members are the real victims of social inequality. As this new underclass, however, does not have the ability to effectively counter its exploitation by capitalism, Buarque’s thought constantly tends towards some kind of substitutionism
, in which political action by wide masses is replaced by government or institutional action on their behalf.
(PT), and particularly with the unionist base of the party, as he strove continuously not only to maintain his independence from party directives, but also to influence intra-party political struggle through State power. In that, he achieved evident success in subduing the party to his policies, at the high price of demobilizing most of the PT activists.
The project Bolsa Escola, implemented in the Federal District during his term, was awarded in Brazil
and other countries. Albeit its 58% of approval in a research made by the Datafolha institute, carried through to the end of his term (being classified as the most popular state governor ever), he was unable to attain re-election, being defeated by Joaquim Roriz (PMDB) by a small margin of votes. Buarque attributed his defeat to his opponent’s promise to grant a large wage increase for the public servants of the Federal District. The promise was not fulfilled by Roriz.
In 1997, the program reached 44 382 children of 22.493 families, with an expense of R$ 32 million, or in other words less than 1% of the budget of the Federal District. Under this program, truancy, which in 1994 had been about 10%, fell to 0,4%.
financing. The quick program also enterprise assessorship and promotes courses for the qualification managemental technique and of the benefited ones. To stand itself to the credit, the necessary interested party to inhabit in Federal District
has at least five years, to have experience in the profession or enterprise the one that if applied of, not to have no type of cadastral restriction and to present a guarantor in the same conditions. When one registers, an agent of credit of the Secretariat of the Work goes to visit the candidate to verify the conditions of production, the product quality/service and the expectations of job generation. After the visit, the Committee of Credit approves or not it request, on the basis of the finding presented for the Secretariat of the Work. In the foreseen dates, the benefited one deposits, in any agency of the BRB, the value of the parcel of the loan. When quitting a financing, all that one that paid in day will be able to get a new credit.
, during the months of January and February, local and national artists. In one year, 220 spectacles of music, theater and dance had been presented, with admission tickets sold at R$ 8.00 each, that had been attended by 100 000 people.
and in the capital Brasilia
, that was one of the champions of traffic accidents.
(PT), he left the party. He said: "I did not leave PT, it was PT that left me. This is the great crime of the PT. The party is honest, but accommodated people. Only some petistas are corrupt." After considering staying in Senate independently, he decided to enter the Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
(PDT), with which he had old affinities, having participated of the campaign of Leonel Brizola
to the presidency in 1989. His proposal to transform the education into great national priority is a continuation of the ideas of Darcy Ribeiro
, an important formulator of the educational politics of the PDT.
in the elections of 2006 for the PDT, having the senator Jefferson Peres
as vice-president. The main flag of his campaign was federalization of basic public education (preschool, basic and intermediary education), considered a prerequisite for solving many Brazilian problems in the medium and long run. To reach this objective, he considered the federalization of some aspects of the area, such as the definition of minimum standards for educational infrastructure (buildings, equipment etc.), curricula, teacher training and with a minimum monthly wage of R$ 800,00 for teachers. He was fourth in the first round, behind Lula, Geraldo Alckmin
and Heloísa Helena
, having received 2,538,834 votes, or 2.64% of the valid votes. Celebrities as Juca Kfouri, Jose Trajano, Caetano Veloso
, Fernanda Torres
, Ricardo Noblat and Manoel Carlos had declared that they had voted for Cristóvão.
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, February 20, 1944) is a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian politician and university professor, member of Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
The Democratic Labour Party is a populist, democratic socialist political party of Brazil. It was founded in 1979 by left-wing leader Leonel Brizola as an attempt to reorganize the Brazilian leftist forces during the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship...
(PDT). He is married and has two children.
Biography
Buarque graduated in mechanical engineeringMechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from the Federal University of Pernambuco
Federal University of Pernambuco
The Federal University of Pernambuco is a public university located in Recife, Brazil, and established in 1946. UFPE has 70 undergraduate courses and 175 postgraduate courses. As of 2007, UFPE had near 35,000 students and about 2,000 professors. The university has three campuses: Recife, Vitória...
(1966). At that time he engaged in student politics becoming a militant of the Ação Popular, a group of the Leftist Progressive Church. After the 1964 coup
History of Brazil (1964-1985)
The Brazilian military government was the authoritarian regime which ruled Brazil from March 31, 1964 to March 15, 1985. It began with the 1964 coup d'état led by the Armed Forces against the democratically elected government of left-wing President João Goulart and ended when José Sarney took...
, he was persecuted and took exile in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he earned a PhD in economics from Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
(Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), in 1973. He worked at Inter-American Bank of Development (IDB) in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1973 to 79.
He was the first elected rector, by direct vote, of the University of Brasilia
University of Brasília
The University of Brasília , is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian public universities funded by the Brazilian federal government...
in the wake of the military regime, governor of Distrito Federal, Minister of Education and currently senator, elected in a historic landslide. Author of ten books with several published articles. He worked as a consultant for several national and international bodies under the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN). Presided over the UN University for Peace
University for Peace
The University for Peace was established in Costa Rica in 1980 "to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace and with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence."At present, the UPEACE Costa...
Council and participated on Food Presidential Commission, formerly directed by late Sociologist Herbert "Betinho" de Souza
Herbert de Souza
Herbert Jose "Betinho" de Souza was a sociologist and activist against economic injustice and government corruption in Brazil and founder of the...
.
Buarque is a member of Institute of Education
Institute of Education
The Institute of Education is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom specialised in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest education research body in the United Kingdom, with...
of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. He created a NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
Mission Child, which sponsors an income transfer program for thousands of families and is funded by private enterprises. He was awarded the Jabuti prize of Literature in 1995, in the “Humanities” category. He is a staunch defender of the “revolution… through education”, a line of thought touted by important Brazilian intellectuals, as Anísio Teixeira, Darcy Ribeiro
Darcy Ribeiro
Darcy Ribeiro was a Brazilian anthropologist, author and politician. Darcy Ribeiro's ideas of Latin American identity have influenced several later scholars of Latin American studies...
and Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
. However, his stance on this subject should not be confused with that of those other thinkers, who – especially Freire – also envisioned a "revolution in education". Buarque’s approach is much more conventional, uncritical of traditional education.
Buarque is also a proposer of an alternative class analysis of modern capitalist societies. According to him, in modern capitalism, the increasing substitution of human labour for automated machines tends to make employed workers a privileged caste, while a new layer of “excluded” people – those who have no jobs, no insurance, no health care – is formed, whose members are the real victims of social inequality. As this new underclass, however, does not have the ability to effectively counter its exploitation by capitalism, Buarque’s thought constantly tends towards some kind of substitutionism
Substitutionism
Substitutionism is a term in Marxist theory which refers to the relationship between the revolutionary party and the working class, where the former's activity substitutes the latter's. It is seen as an inverse to classical Marxism, where the "emancipation of the working class must be the work of...
, in which political action by wide masses is replaced by government or institutional action on their behalf.
Federal District Governor (1995–98)
His term as Governor of Distrito Federal was marked by strong tensions with the Workers’ PartyWorkers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
(PT), and particularly with the unionist base of the party, as he strove continuously not only to maintain his independence from party directives, but also to influence intra-party political struggle through State power. In that, he achieved evident success in subduing the party to his policies, at the high price of demobilizing most of the PT activists.
The project Bolsa Escola, implemented in the Federal District during his term, was awarded in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and other countries. Albeit its 58% of approval in a research made by the Datafolha institute, carried through to the end of his term (being classified as the most popular state governor ever), he was unable to attain re-election, being defeated by Joaquim Roriz (PMDB) by a small margin of votes. Buarque attributed his defeat to his opponent’s promise to grant a large wage increase for the public servants of the Federal District. The promise was not fulfilled by Roriz.
“Bolsa-escola”
Bolsa escola assures a minimum wage to every poor family in which all children between the ages of 7 and 14 are registered for public school. The criteria to receive it are:- Per capita income monthly of the family must be equal or inferior the half minimum wage.
- All the children of the family must attend a minimum of 90% of classes.
- The family must have resided in the Federal DistrictFederal districtFederal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries and states all over the world.-United States:...
(Brasilia) for at least five years. - If some adult member of the family is unemployed, he or she will have to be enrolled in the National System of Employment (SINE).
In 1997, the program reached 44 382 children of 22.493 families, with an expense of R$ 32 million, or in other words less than 1% of the budget of the Federal District. Under this program, truancy, which in 1994 had been about 10%, fell to 0,4%.
“Poupança-escola”
Works as one programs to complement to Bolsa escola, aimed at diminishing school evasion and failing rates. The pupil scholarship holder, to each year where he is approved, has deposited in a special account the value of a minimum wage, that will be applied in the Deep one of Solidarity of the Federal District (Funsol). After to complete the fourth and eighth series of the first degree, the pupil will be able to draw half of the value deposited in the saving. In the conclusion of as the degree, the balance is set free integrally. If the pupil will be disapproved per two years consecutive, will be eliminated of the program and the balance reverted for the government. The program costs 10% of the annual average cost of a pupil in the public net, what it makes with that, when reducing significantly the school failing rates (fell of 29,8% in 94 for 16,45% in 97), represents a considerable economy for the government, beyond the social and educational profit.Health at home
The families benefited for this program regularly receive the visit from health teams, trained to give to basic services in the area to all the members of the family, diminishing its necessity of displacement to the hospitals and centers of health. Each team, headquartered in a Unit of Health in House, is composed for a doctor, a nurse, three nurse aid, four communitarian agents of health and one to assist of general services, and has covered a region with about a thousand families. This program already is implanted in eleven regions reaching, through the 101 teams of the Secretariat of Health, about 800 thousand people.“Mala do livro”
Consists of mini-libraries (box-bookshelves), installed in residences of Communitarian Agents of Reading, for book loan to the neighborhood. Each domiciliary library has a quantity of about 150 volumes, made up of: didactic books and of infantile, Brazilian and foreign pertaining to school support, literature. The books are loaned per seven days. To each two months, the box-bookshelves are changed, giving new options of reading. The program already has five hundred “luggages of the book” reaching a universe of about 50 a thousand people.Brb-Labour
Its main objective is to democratize the access to the credit and the services banking, being benefited microproducing agricultural and urban, as craftsmen, feirantes, small rendering of services and workers of the informal sector, as well as cooperatives and microcompanies. The ceiling of the financing value is of R$ 5 000 per person and R$ 25 000 in the case of collective forms of production and work. These resources are destined to the purchase of machines and equipment as well as the o working capitalWorking capital
Working capital is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Net working capital is...
financing. The quick program also enterprise assessorship and promotes courses for the qualification managemental technique and of the benefited ones. To stand itself to the credit, the necessary interested party to inhabit in Federal District
Federal district
Federal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries and states all over the world.-United States:...
has at least five years, to have experience in the profession or enterprise the one that if applied of, not to have no type of cadastral restriction and to present a guarantor in the same conditions. When one registers, an agent of credit of the Secretariat of the Work goes to visit the candidate to verify the conditions of production, the product quality/service and the expectations of job generation. After the visit, the Committee of Credit approves or not it request, on the basis of the finding presented for the Secretariat of the Work. In the foreseen dates, the benefited one deposits, in any agency of the BRB, the value of the parcel of the loan. When quitting a financing, all that one that paid in day will be able to get a new credit.
Popular Seasons
Initiated in 1 995, the “Popular Seasons” takes to all the cities of Federal DistrictFederal district
Federal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries and states all over the world.-United States:...
, during the months of January and February, local and national artists. In one year, 220 spectacles of music, theater and dance had been presented, with admission tickets sold at R$ 8.00 each, that had been attended by 100 000 people.
Peace in traffic
Program of education in traffic that drastically reduced the number of accidents in the Federal DistrictFederal district
Federal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries and states all over the world.-United States:...
and in the capital Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, that was one of the champions of traffic accidents.
Entering PDT
In 2005, after the denunciations of corruption involving Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker's Party)Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
(PT), he left the party. He said: "I did not leave PT, it was PT that left me. This is the great crime of the PT. The party is honest, but accommodated people. Only some petistas are corrupt." After considering staying in Senate independently, he decided to enter the Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
The Democratic Labour Party is a populist, democratic socialist political party of Brazil. It was founded in 1979 by left-wing leader Leonel Brizola as an attempt to reorganize the Brazilian leftist forces during the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship...
(PDT), with which he had old affinities, having participated of the campaign of Leonel Brizola
Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola was a Brazilian politician. Launched in politics by Getúlio Vargas, Brizola was the only politician to serve as governor of two different states in the whole history of Brazil. In 1959 he was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 1982 and 1990 he was elected...
to the presidency in 1989. His proposal to transform the education into great national priority is a continuation of the ideas of Darcy Ribeiro
Darcy Ribeiro
Darcy Ribeiro was a Brazilian anthropologist, author and politician. Darcy Ribeiro's ideas of Latin American identity have influenced several later scholars of Latin American studies...
, an important formulator of the educational politics of the PDT.
2006 Presidential Race
Cristovam Buarque ran for PresidentPresident of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
in the elections of 2006 for the PDT, having the senator Jefferson Peres
Jefferson Peres
Jefferson Peres was a Brazilian professor and politician, member of the Brazilian Senate from 1995....
as vice-president. The main flag of his campaign was federalization of basic public education (preschool, basic and intermediary education), considered a prerequisite for solving many Brazilian problems in the medium and long run. To reach this objective, he considered the federalization of some aspects of the area, such as the definition of minimum standards for educational infrastructure (buildings, equipment etc.), curricula, teacher training and with a minimum monthly wage of R$ 800,00 for teachers. He was fourth in the first round, behind Lula, Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
and Heloísa Helena
Heloísa Helena (politician)
Heloísa Helena Lima de Moraes Carvalho is a left-wing politician in Brazil.-Career:A trained nurse, Helena helped founding the Center of Health at the Federal University of Alagoas. She was also involved in the student movements against the military dictatorship...
, having received 2,538,834 votes, or 2.64% of the valid votes. Celebrities as Juca Kfouri, Jose Trajano, Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
, Fernanda Torres
Fernanda Torres
Fernanda Pinheiro Monteiro Torres is a Brazilian movie, theatre and television actress. She is the daughter of the Oscar-nominated actress Fernanda Montenegro and the actor Fernando Torres....
, Ricardo Noblat and Manoel Carlos had declared that they had voted for Cristóvão.
See also
- Bolsa escola
- List of external governors of the Federal District