We present the stratospheric backscatter profiles obtained by the S¿o Jos¿ dos Campos lidar (23 ¿S, 46 ¿W) during the period of the persistence of the El Chich¿n aerosol cloud (July 1982 to November 1985). The backscatter coefficient integrated from 17 to 27 km shows an overall 1/e decay rate of about 13 months, but the decay was considerably more irregular than that observed at other sites. In June and July of 1984 there occurred a significant secondary maximum in the integrated backscatter. It is not clear whether this peak was caused by circulation effects or whether it was the result of the injection of new material by a series of moderate equatorial eruptions during the first half of 1984. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989