Marcello Nunes de Alencar (August 23, 1925 – June 10, 2014) was a Brazilian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and lawyer. Alencar served as the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

from 1995 until 1999, as well as two tenures as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

from 1983 to 1986 and 1989 to 1993.

Biography

Alencar, a lawyer, was a native of

. He defended

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s during the country's military dictatorship era.

Mayor of Rio de Janeiro

He became the chairman of the Banco do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, an influential position which led to his segue into politics. Alencar joined the Democratic Labour Party, or PDT, which was led by

Leonel Brizola Leonel de Moura Brizola (22 January 1922 – 21 June 2004) was a Brazilian politician. Launched into politics by Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas in the 1930–1950s, Brizola was the only politician to serve as elected governor of two Brazi ...

at the time. Brizola became the Governor of Rio de Janeiro state in 1983. That same year, Governor Brizola appointed Alencar, a political ally, as the

Mayor of Rio de Janeiro This is a list of mayors of Rio de Janeiro. History The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded in 1565. It was the seat of the Crown captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a district of colonial Brazil under Portuguese rule. In 1763 Rio de Janeiro city becam ...

(The office of mayor was an appointed position during the military era, rather than an elected office). He served until January 1986, when he was succeeded by Saturnino Braga, the first elected mayor following the end of the dictatorship. Alencar ran as a candidate for the

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

in 1986, but was defeated in the election. The position of Mayor of Rio de Janeiro once again became an

elected office An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

following the end of the dictatorship in 1985. In 1988, Alencar was elected to his second term as Mayor, a position he held until 1993. Alencar faced a number of challenges during his second term. In the interim period between 1986 and 1988, the city of Rio de Janeiro had filed for bankruptcy. Alencar oversaw a series of economic reforms and

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

improvements to the city's infrastructure aimed at reviving the economy during his second term. He was a proponent of the Rio Orlo project, which saw the construction of

bike path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...

s along the Atlantic coast, as well renovated and remodeled the city's

sidewalks A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone ...

. Alencar also instituted a series of projects which renovated hospitals, schools, streets and other

public spaces A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

. He left office in 1993.

Governor of Rio de Janeiro state

In 1993, Alencar left the PDT following a series of disputes with his former ally, Leonel Brizola. He also joined the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (

PSDB The Brazilian Social Democracy Party ( pt, Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a political party in Brazil. As the third largest par ...

) in 1993. Marcello Alencar declared his candidacy for Governor of Rio de Janeiro state in 1994 as a member of the PSDB. He was elected Governor in the 1994 gubernatorial election and took office on January 1, 1995. He served for one term, ending in 1999. As Governor, Alencar led the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of several state agencies, including the gas company, electric company, and the Banco do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. He expanded several

Rio de Janeiro Metro The Rio de Janeiro Metro ( pt, MetrôRio, ), commonly referred to as just the ''Metrô'' () is a rapid transit network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Metrô was inaugurated on 5 March 1979, and consisted of five stations op ...

lines to lessen the time spent

commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regul ...

to work. Alencar initiated the construction of Via Light, a new highway extending from the

Pavuna Pavuna is a neighbourhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over ...

neighborhood of Rio to the nearby city of Nova Iguaçu. The new Via Light was intended to ease chronic traffic congestion on an existing, older highway,

Rodovia Presidente Dutra The Rodovia Presidente Dutra, (BR-116 – or SP-060 in the state of São Paulo), colloquially known as Via Dutra is a federal highway which runs through the eastern part of the state of São Paulo and southwestern region of the state of Rio ...

. Governor Alencar left office in 1999.

Later life

Alencar suffered a stroke in 2002. He served as the President of the Rio de Janeiro state chapter of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) from 1993 to 1995 and again from 2001 until 2005. Marcello Alencar died at his home in

São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

, on June 10, 2014, at the age of 88. His funeral was held at the Palácio da Cidade in

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

. He was buried in Cemitério do Caju.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alencar, Marcello 1925 births 2014 deaths Governors of Rio de Janeiro (state) Mayors of Rio de Janeiro (city) 20th-century Brazilian lawyers Brazilian Social Democracy Party politicians Brazilian Labour Party (current) politicians People from Rio de Janeiro (city)