Mário Covas Almeida Júnior (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmaɾju ˈkɔvɐz ˈʒunjoʁ]; 21 April 1930 – 6 March 2001) was a Brazilian politician.

Mário Covas
Covas in 1997
Governor of São Paulo
In office
1 January 1995 – 6 March 2001
Leave: 22 January 2001 – 6 March 2001
Vice GovernorGeraldo Alckmin
Preceded byLuiz Fleury Filho
Succeeded byGeraldo Alckmin
Senator for São Paulo
In office
1 February 1987 – 1 January 1995
Preceded byAmaral Furlan
Succeeded byRomeu Tuma
Mayor of São Paulo
In office
11 May 1983 – 1 January 1986
Preceded byFrancisco Altino Lima (acting)
Succeeded byJânio Quadros
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
1 February 1983 – 11 May 1983
ConstituencySão Paulo
In office
1 February 1963 – 16 January 1969
ConstituencySão Paulo
Personal details
Born21 April 1930
Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
Died6 March 2001(2001-03-06) (aged 70)
São Paulo, Brazil
Cause of deathBladder cancer
Buried
Paquetá Cemetery, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
Political party
  • PST (1959–1965)
  • MDB (1965–1980)
  • PMDB (1980–1988)
  • PSDB (1988–2001)
Spouse
Lila Almeida
(m. 1954)
Children
  • Renata Covas (b. 1955)
  • Sílvia Covas (1956–1976)
  • Mário Covas Neto (b. 1959)
RelativesBruno Covas (grandson)
Alma materUniversity of São Paulo (B.E.)
ProfessionCivil engineer
Signature

Biography

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Covas studied engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He entered politics in his native city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo.

He was elected federal representative, mayor of São Paulo City (1983–1985), senator and twice Governor of the state of São Paulo. He was governor from 1994 to 1998, defeating Francisco Rossi in the run-off, and from 1998, defeating Paulo Maluf in the run-off, to his death in 2001. He was a founder and member of PMDB (Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement) and later PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party). In 1989, he was the PSDB presidential candidate, receiving 11% of the votes. In the run-off of that election, he supported, like his party, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

He took a medical leave of absence on 22 January 2001, due to bladder cancer found during an operation to remove a prostate tumor.[1] He died later the same year. His successor was his deputy, Geraldo Alckmin.

Electoral history

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1994 São Paulo gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2
Votes % Votes %
PSDB Mário Covas 6,574,517 46.84 8,661,960 56.12
PDT Francisco Rossi 3,119,592 22.23 6,771,454 43.88
PT José Dirceu 2,085,193 14.86 Eliminated
PMDB Barros Munhoz 1,584,397 11.29 Eliminated
PP Luiz Antônio Medeiros 317,593 2.26 Eliminated
PRONA Álvaro Soares Dutra 144,196 1.03 Eliminated
PSC Eduardo Resstom 134,064 0.95 Eliminated
PRN Ciro Moura 75,727 0.54 Eliminated
Total votes 14,035,279 100.00% 15,433,414 100.00%
Invalid and blank votes 4,377,969 23.78% 2,315,122 13.04%
PSDB gain from PMDB
1998 São Paulo gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2
Votes % Votes %
PSDB Mário Covas 3,813,186 22.95 9,800,253 55.37
PPB Paulo Maluf 5,351,026 32.21 7,900,598 44.63
PT Marta Suplicy 3,738,750 22.51 Eliminated
PDT Francisco Rossi 2,843,515 17.18 Eliminated
PMDB Orestes Quércia 714,097 4.30 Eliminated
PRONA Constantino Cury 68,906 0.41 Eliminated
PSTU Antônio Donizete 29,033 0.18 Eliminated
PSDC João Manuel Batista 24,229 0.15 Eliminated
PSC Edson Falanga 14,853 0.09 Eliminated
PRTB Levy Fidelix 14,406 0.08 Eliminated
Total votes 16,612,001 100.00% 17,700,851 100.00%
Invalid and blank votes 2,858,536 14.68% 1,473,216 7.68%
PSDB hold
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References

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  1. ^ Fuhrmann, Leonardo (2000-10-19). "Covas está com câncer, confirma equipe médica". Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
Party political offices
New political party PSDB nominee for President of Brazil
1989
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of São Paulo
1983–1985
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of São Paulo
1995–2001
Succeeded by