MACEIÓ, Brazil — Former Brazilian president Fernando Collor de Mello, once a symbol of democratic revival, has been imprisoned to serve a sentence of nearly nine years for corruption and money laundering.
Collor de Mello, who became Brazil’s first elected leader after the end of military rule, was taken into custody Friday in his home state of Alagoas, according to federal authorities. The 75-year-old’s downfall marks another chapter in the country’s turbulent relationship with political leadership and accountability.
His conviction ties back to allegations of accepting approximately $3.5 million in bribes during his tenure as a senator between 2010 and 2014 — offenses connected to the infamous “Car Wash” investigation that exposed vast corruption networks intertwined with state oil giant Petrobras.
The arrest follows a Supreme Court decision rejecting Collor de Mello’s last-minute legal attempts to block his imprisonment. Justice Alexandre de Moraes directed that he be held in a private cell within the special detention unit at Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison.
His legal team has announced plans to petition for house arrest, citing his age and health considerations.
The fall of Collor de Mello places him among a growing list of Brazilian leaders entangled in criminal proceedings. Of the nation’s presidents since the end of dictatorship in 1985, more than half have been impeached, convicted, or now face criminal trials.
Meanwhile, political uncertainty deepens as former president Jair Bolsonaro faces legal battles of his own. Bolsonaro, currently recovering from surgery, was this week formally summoned to defend himself against accusations linked to an alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2022 election.
Brazil’s judiciary appears determined to signal that no leader — past or present — will stand beyond the reach of the law.
