Since President Fernando Collor eased restrictions on imports in 1990 Brazil has become more open to trade.

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The move was part of a package of measures known as the Collor Plan, aimed at combating the country's chronic high inflation.

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In rejecting this, Mr Covas saved the party and Mr Cardoso from being dragged down by the corruption that caused Mr Collor's downfall soon after.

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The new leader, Fernando Collor de Mello, had chosen as his finance minister the unrelated Zelia Cardoso de Mello, the first woman to occupy the post.

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They included Fernando Collor, a former president forced out in 1992 over corruption allegations, who failed to make a comeback as governor of his home state of Alagoas.

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Its members include Fernando Collor, a former president who resigned in 1992 while facing impeachment for corruption, and Marcelo Crivella, a bishop in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a Pentecostal outfit.

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On one hand this brings to memory the bank freeze that former President Collor subjected Brazilians to in the early 1990s, and I remember how angry people were, it hurt the least advantaged the most.

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One of Mr Collor's closest supporters was Luis Estevao, a senator and property developer, who in turn has been accused by the Senate inquiry of profiting from a huge alleged fraud over the building of a Sao Paulo court building.

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Mr Pascoal's gang has been tied to a group in the north-eastern state of Alagoas allegedly associated with Augusto Farias, a congressman whose murdered brother ran the influence-peddling ring that led to the impeachment of Fernando Collor as Brazil's president in 1993.

ECONOMIST: Brazil