Previous Fora / 2011
MERCADANTE, Aloizio
Minister of Science and Technology, Brazil
Aloízio Mercadante
Economist Aloizio Mercadante Oliva took part in the preparation of government programs for the PT (Workers’ Party) and worked as coordinator of the presidential elections in 1989 and 2002. He ran as Vice-President in the 1994 elections alongside Lula.
A professor-in-leave with the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (PUC-SP) and the University of Campinas (Unicamp), Mercadante served as PT’s national vice-president and secretary for international relations, and was also part of the National Directory and the National Executive Board of the party. In 1990, he was elected for his first term as PT’s best voted federal deputy. In 1996, he ran for Vice-Mayor in Sao Paulo.
In 1999, he was back to the Chamber of Deputies as the country’s third best voted deputy. During his second term, he participated in a number of commissions in the economic, financial and tax areas. He chaired the Commission for Economy, Industry and Trade (1999), was PT’s leader in the Chamber (2000), and member of the commissions for External Relations and National Defense, and Finance and Taxes (2001).
While running for Senator in 2002, Mercadante became the best voted in the country’s history – with over 10.5 million votes. At the Senate, he served as Leader of the Government until June 2006, when he decided to run for State Governor in Sao Paulo.
In 2008, Mercadante chaired the Senate’s Commission for Economic Affairs (CAE), and was elected Chairman of the Brazilian Representation in the Mercosur Parliament.