Rio de Janeiro
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva fell just short of 50 percent of the vote in national elections last week, setting up an Oct. 29 runoff against his nearest challenger, Geraldo Alckmin of the Social Democratic Party. Da Silva seemed headed for easy re-election until September, when members of his Workers Party were caught trying to pay $792,000 for information damaging to Alckmin. “I didn’t vote for Alckmin,” said José Reis, a salesman in Rio de Janeiro. “I voted against Lula and the corruption around him.” Da Silva denied knowledge of the scheme, although among those implicated were his bodyguard and the husband of his personal secretary.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
