José Alencar Gomes da Silva was a Brazilian businessman and politician who served as the 23rd vice president of Brazil from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010. In business from a young age, Alencar became a self-made multimillionaire as the chief executive of Coteminas, a leading textile manufacturer. In the 1990s, Alencar groomed his son to succeed him at the company.
He opted to enter politics in his home state, Minas Gerais. Alencar had a business-oriented political platform, advocating market liberalization and deregulation of production. His expensive political campaigns received hefty funds from Coteminas. After a failed run in 1994 for governor of Minas Gerais, he won the election in 1998 as Senator representing his home state.
In 2002, Alencar was invited by the left-wing Workers' Party to run for vice president on the same ticket as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The alliance between the leftist union leader and Alencar, an experienced entrepreneur, proved successful. They won the 2002 Brazilian general election and were re-elected in 2006. Over the years, Lula da Silva and Alencar developed a close and affectionate friendship.