José Alencar Gomes da Silva (born October 17, 1931, and died March 29, 2011) was a Brazilian businessman, entrepreneur, and politician. He served as Brazil’s 23rd vice president from January 1, 2003, to January 1, 2011. Alencar started working in business at a young age and became a very wealthy person on his own as the chief executive of Coteminas, a major textile company. In the 1990s, he trained his son to take over the company after him.

Alencar entered politics in his home state, Minas Gerais. He supported business-friendly policies, such as reducing government control over industries and making it easier for businesses to operate. His political campaigns cost a lot of money, much of which came from Coteminas. After losing an election in 1994 for governor of Minas Gerais, he won a seat in the Senate in 1998, representing his home state.

In 2002, Alencar was invited by the left-wing Workers’ Party to run as vice president on the same ticket as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The partnership between Lula, a union leader, and Alencar, a business leader, was successful. They won the 2002 Brazilian general election and were re-elected in 2006. Over time, Lula and Alencar became close friends. Alencar was diagnosed with stomach and kidney cancer in 1997 and died from the disease in 2011.

Alencar was respected by journalists and politicians for his lively personality and kind attitude. He succeeded despite not having formal education. Based on his business experience, he supported lower taxes, especially those paid by consumers, and simpler tax rules. He also advocated for lower interest rates, better banking oversight, and programs to help people in need. As vice president, Alencar sometimes disagreed with his government’s policies, which caused some embarrassment for other officials. His strong determination to live with terminal cancer also influenced how people viewed him during and after his time in office.

Biography

Alencar was born on October 17, 1931, in Muriaé, a town in the inland state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was the eleventh child of Antônio Gomes da Silva and Dolores Peres Gomes da Silva, who were small business owners. As a child, he was a member of the Boy Scouts.

He began working as a child and left school early to help his father with the family business. For many years, he worked with his older brothers before starting his own successful business. At one point, he worked as a traveling salesman and in food wholesale businesses.

Alencar later expanded his family’s small clothing factory and retail store into a large company. In 1967, he founded Coteminas, which became one of Brazil’s largest textile manufacturers. His company produced goods for well-known brands, including Artex, Santista, and Calfat. He worked to grow the company’s influence globally after merging it with a company based in South Carolina called Springs Industries.

After many years in business, Alencar entered politics and prepared his son to take over Coteminas. He ran for governor of Minas Gerais in 1994 but was not elected. In 1998, he was elected as a Senator from Minas Gerais. During his time in the Senate, he served on several committees, including the Senatorial Commission for Economic and Social Matters.

In 2002, Alencar passed leadership of his company, which had yearly sales of about 850 million reais, to his son, Josué Gomes da Silva. He later ran for Vice President of Brazil as a running mate for Lula, to address concerns that Lula might not support businesses. He became the honorary president of the center-right Liberal Party.

At the end of 2005, Alencar left the Liberal Party to join the new Brazilian Republican Party. This party was founded by Bishop Marcelo Crivella, a leader of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and others. Crivella is also a Senator representing Rio de Janeiro.

While in government, Alencar worked with another businessman, Luiz Fernando Furlan, to address the concerns of Brazilian business leaders. They criticized slow government processes, poor infrastructure, and cautious economic policies. Their efforts helped strengthen Apex-Brasil, an organization that supports Brazilian exports.

Alencar was one of the most vocal critics of the Brazilian Central Bank’s conservative monetary policies under Henrique Meirelles. He was supported by ministers Antonio Palocci and Paulo Bernardo and often criticized the government for not lowering interest rates. He also called for changes to Brazil’s tax system.

In November 2004, Alencar was sworn in as Defense Minister after José Viegas Filho resigned. President Lula chose him for the role. Alencar tried to resign several times, saying a businessman might not be the best choice for leading the military. Lula persuaded him to stay until March 2006, when Alencar stepped down and was replaced by Waldir Pires, an anti-corruption activist.

Although he disagreed with some policies of the Lula administration, Alencar was invited by Lula to be his running mate in the 2006 elections. Lula won re-election on October 29, and Alencar became Vice President for another term. He continued to support his usual views but spoke more carefully. He tried to run for the Senate in 2010 but had to stop because his cancer was in an advanced stage.

Personal life

After settling down, Alencar married Mariza Gomes in 1957. Together, they had three children: two daughters named Maria da Graça and Patrícia, and a son named Josué. Josué later became the president of Coteminas after his father entered politics.

In July 2010, Rosemary de Morais, a 55-year-old retired teacher, filed a legal case to prove that Alencar was her father. The court ruled in her favor, stating that Alencar’s refusal to take a DNA test was considered proof of paternity under Brazilian law 12.004/2009. The judge also said other evidence in the case supported this decision. Rosemary explained that she was born in 1954 to Francisca de Morais, a nurse, and Alencar, before either of them was married. In 2015, the Superior Court of Justice officially recognized Rosemary as Alencar’s daughter.

Disease and death

During a regular check-up in 1997, José Alencar was diagnosed with stomach and kidney cancer. After receiving treatment for some time, he had his right kidney and two-thirds of his stomach removed through surgery. Five years later, doctors removed a malignant tumor from his prostate. However, the disease had spread to other parts of his body, and in 2006, a sarcoma was found in his abdomen. On January 26, 2009, surgery removed eight tumors and damaged sections of his small and large intestines and the ureters. In December 2010, he had urgent surgery to treat severe bleeding in his digestive system, which was his final surgery as vice president. Doctors could not remove the tumors in his abdomen because he had already undergone a total of 18 surgeries. He received chemotherapy for many years and was mostly treated at Hospital Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo. He also received experimental treatment at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

José Alencar passed away in late March 2011 in São Paulo after 13 years of fighting metastasized cancer. His death was mourned by people from different groups and political backgrounds. Former President Lula said he knew "few men with José Alencar's goodness and spirit," and President Rousseff called it an "honor" to have worked with him. Brazil held a state funeral for José Alencar, and Vice President Michel Temer declared seven days of official mourning. He is remembered as an honest and independent politician who supported social welfare and economic freedom.