Collor Out, Franco In

HAVING INSISTED FOR MONTHS THAT THE WORD resign was not in his vocabulary, Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello surprised even his few remaining supporters last week when he announced, minutes after his impeachment trial began, that he was stepping down. By resigning, Collor hoped to safeguard his political future, but the Senate barred him from holding office for eight years. Collor called the trial a "summary execution" and the sentence, which he will appeal, a "farce." Citizen Collor still faces criminal charges of corruption that carry jail penalties.

In order to show his own honesty in contrast to Collor's, the new President, Itamar Franco, presented a list of all his personal assets to the president of Congress before taking office.