As Brazil Goes...

"In the Roman empire, only Romans voted. In modern global capitalism, only Americans vote," declared George Soros in June. "Brazilians do not vote."

He spoke too soon. With only weeks remaining till the presidential election on October 6, Workers Party (PT) candidate Luis Inacio Da Silva--"Lula," as he is popularly known--is still leading in the polls. His closest competitor, Ciro Gomes, is an ordinary politician whose rise to second place was fueled by harsh populist rhetoric against the IMF, neoliberalism and the economic failures of the current administration. The ruling party's candidate, José Serra, is a distant third--despite Soros's claim that Brazilians had no choice but to elect him.

The Wall Street-Treasury Complex, as Columbia economist Jagdish Bhagwati has named the IMF and its private sector allies, won't be able to pick the president this time. So they are going for second best: choosing the policies. On August 19 President Fernando Henrique Cardoso met with the contenders and tried to rope them into pledging support for continuing IMF policies over the next three years. "The candidates," he told the press, "whether they want to or not, will have to commit to these [IMF] agreements."

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