Politics and political scandal are as common abroad as they are in the United States. Take the case of Brazil’s Fernando Collor de Mello, for example. Born into a powerful political family — his father a former senator, and his grandfather on his maternal side was a labor minister, Mello started out as an owner of a football club, then moved into politics after figuring out there was even more money to be made there.

On this day, September 29, in 1992, after just three years in office, Brazilian President Fernando Mello was impeached on a vote of 441 to 38, for charges of corruption and influence peddling.

Ironically, Mello gained the popularity of the people by campaigning to put an end to corruption. As governor, he targeted public servants who were paid exorbitant salaries, calling them “maharajas”. But as president, he was much more willing to have exorbitant payments made into his accounts in exchange for special consideration for the payers’ wishes.