Ana Maria Rangel (

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, May 21, 1957) is a

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

graduated from

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, United States. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder ...

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. Rangel studied and made presentations and talks about the socioeconomic situation in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. She was also a business owner in the transportation sector. Rangel followed her husband to the United States, shortly after marrying, where she lived for 25 years. Having a very active life, she successfully split her time as head of family, business executive and

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. Rangel obtained an amateur soccer coach certification so that she, being divorced, could more closely accompany her son as he played soccer both in the US and in Brazil. A practicing Catholic, she volunteered with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, helping guarantee the rights of immigrants and promoting the dignity of life. Rangel's experience in social work and her knowledge of the

socioeconomic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

situation in Brazil, led her to become a candidate for President of Brazil under the Partido Republicano Progressista (PRP) party in 2006. She had very little access to the free press since in Brazil, free television time is allocated to the different candidates based on the size of the party and PRP was small. She obtained the most votes among the small parties. During her presidential campaign, she was asked to pay a bribe in the amount of R$14 million to guarantee her status as a candidate by the leader of the PRP party. The party leaders affirmed that the payment was a deal to pay for her campaign staff and marketing. After publicizing the negotiation and broadcasting a hidden recording of the negotiations, she began running her campaign with an "anti-corruption" theme. The PRP then denounced and removed Ana Maria from their ballot and she attempted to run independently. In Brazil one cannot run independently and must have the party's endorsement.

Politics of Brazil The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative ...

She had to appeal to the Justice Department where she was confirmed as a candidate allowing her to campaign for a short time through Election Day.

References

1957 births Living people Candidates for President of Brazil Brazilian women in politics Progressive Republican Party (Brazil) politicians {{Brazil-politician-stub Brazilian Roman Catholics