They were the first direct presidential elections since 1960, the first to be held using a two-round system and the first to take place under the 1988 constitution, which followed two decades of authoritarian rule after the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.

The collapse of the military-imposed two-party system[1] that pitted the right-wing authoritarian National Renewal Alliance (ARENA) against the catch-all Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) resulted in a wide array of new parties seeking to fill the political vacuum.

[8] Following the end of state repression of socialist parties, the Brazilian Left faced a fractured field defined by two primary candidates: Popular labour leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, of the industrial ABC Region of São Paulo,[9] and Leonel Brizola, a longtime staple of the Brazilian Left who had served as Governor of Rio Grande do Sul prior to the 1964 military coup.

[10] Lula was widely known in Brazil for his role leading the highly publicized metalworkers' strike in the State of São Paulo during the late 1970s[11] and had been elected a federal deputy in 1986 with the most votes nationwide.

For his running mate, Lula chose Senator José Paulo Bisol of Rio Grande do Sul, a member of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), to unite the left.

It was in a process of slow liberalization since the 1974 indirect election of Ernesto Geisel, who was more permissive of political dissent than his hard-liner predecessor, Emílio Garrastazu Médici.

The support of General Leônidas Pires Gonçalves, slated to be Minister of the Army in Neves' future cabinet, was decisive for Sarney taking office.

Governor of Alagoas (1987–1989)Senator from Minas GeraisFederal DeputySenator from Rio Grande do SulFederal DeputyPresident of Fiocruz (1985–1989)Senator from ParanáPresident of the partyPresident of the partySenator from São PauloSenator from ParáGovernor of Rio de Janeiro (1983–1987)Federal DeputyGovernor of São Paulo (1979–1982)Federal DeputyFederal DeputyPresident of the partyPresident of the partyFederal DeputyGovernor of Bahia (1987–1989)Minister of Mines and Energy (1985–1988)Secretary of Legal Affairs of São Paulo (1986–1989)President of the partyPresident of the partyLeader of the Ruralist Democratic UnionPresident of the party Most political parties were relatively new but managed to actively mobilise the population,[citation needed] with the election coming five years after massive demonstrations for direct elections in the late 1980s Diretas Já movement had called for the end of the military regime.

[17] TV host Silvio Santos announced he would run just 20 days before the election, but his candidacy was mired in uncertainty and eventually revoked by the Superior Electoral Court because of a technicality.

[18] The first round took place on November 15, 1989, the 100th anniversary of the republican coup which deposed Pedro II of Brazil and proclaimed the First Brazilian Republic.

Since no candidate managed to win a majority of votes, a second round was held on December 17, featuring the two top finishers: Fernando Collor de Mello of the economically liberal right-wing populist National Reconstruction Party and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the social democratic left-wing populist Workers' Party.

Lula's support was greater among progressive intellectuals, Catholic activists, skilled industrial workers, and the college-educated middle class of the South and Southeast, despite himself being a poor immigrant from the Northeast.

[citation needed] Collor argued that Lula's plans of aggressive spending on inequality reduction programs would destroy Brazil's then-fragile economy, harming the poor people he claimed to champion.

attribute Collor's electoral victory to this particular event and other media coverage, such as a Jornal do Brasil article claiming Lula had fathered an illegitimate daughter.