The rise and fall of Fernando Collor, Brazil’s former president

Brazil’s Supreme Court formed a 6-1 majority on Thursday to convict former President Fernando Collor on charges of corruption, money laundering, and conspiracy. Three justices are left to vote, and the trial is not yet over, but the outcome is now certain.

Mr. Collor was once the most powerful man in Brazil. In late 1989, he defeated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil’s first presidential election by popular vote after the military dictatorship (1964-1985). Brazil’s best-selling weekly news magazine Veja dubbed him “the Maharaja hunter.” The “Maharajas,” in this case, were Brazilian public officials who made obscene amounts…