José Serra was born in 1942, in Mooca, the son of an Italian immigrant and a Brazilian woman. At USP, he became involved in theater and activism, joining the Catholic University Youth and the Grêmio Politécnico
In 1963, at the age of 21, he became president of UNE, being the main student leader in the country. He spoke at the historic Central do Brasil rally in 1964, defending reforms alongside Jango
With the 1964 coup, he took refuge in the Bolivian embassy before leaving for France and Chile. There, he married Mónica, had two children and advised Salvador Allende’s government. Separated in 2013
After the 1973 Chilean coup, he went into exile in the USA, studying at Cornell and Princeton. He returned to Brazil in 1977, after 13 years abroad, becoming a professor at Unicamp and editorialist at Folha
He began his public career as Planning Secretary for Franco Montoro in SP. In 1988, he was one of the founders of the PSDB, after serving as a constituent deputy and creating the FAT (Worker Support Fund)
During the FHC government, he took over the Ministry of Planning and, later, that of Health. In this department, he stood out for the creation of generics, Anvisa and programs to combat AIDS and smoking
Serra ran for president in 2002, but lost to Lula. In 2004, he was elected mayor of São Paulo, but left the position to run and win the election for state government in 2006
As governor (2007-2010), he implemented the Nota Fiscal Paulista and invested in Rodoanel. In 2010, he tried again for the Presidency, being defeated by Dilma Rousseff in the second round
After losing the mayorship of SP in 2012, he was elected senator in 2014. With Michel Temer, in 2016, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs, but resigned after ten months citing health problems
His trajectory was shaken by Lava Jato allegations and suspicions of slush funds. In 2020, he became a defendant for corruption and money laundering, also facing depression
In 2022, he was not elected deputy and supported Lula’s return to the presidency in the second round against Jair Bolsonaro. In that year’s race, he ran for federal deputy, but was not elected.
Your subscription helps Folha continue providing independent, quality journalism
See the main news of the day in Brazil and around the world
