Brazil’s President Lula faces run-off

SAO PAULO – Battered by a string of political scandals, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva squandered what seemed to be a sure first-round election victory and now must face a run-off vote against an energised opposition candidate.

Lula, Brazil’s first working-class president, fell just short of the 50 per cent of votes he needed to win another four-year term outright in Sunday’s election, setting up a showdown with his main rival Geraldo Alckmin on October 29. Alckmin, who campaigned as a squeaky-clean alternative to the scandal-plagued Lula, oozed confidence after the final results came in before dawn yesterday.”I’m going to the second round with a great chance of winning the election.We’re going to have an ethical, honest and efficient government,” he told a crowd of cheering supporters in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s business capital.Lula finished with 48,6 per cent of the votes in the first round while Alckmin took 41,6 per cent.The Lula camp had hoped to avoid a second round of voting, which will give the opposition more time to rally support and potentially dig up further evidence of shady campaign tactics by the ruling Workers’ Party.Until recently Lula appeared to be coasting to re-election, bolstered by the support of the poor and working class whose economic fortunes improved on his watch.But his popularity began to dwindle two weeks ago after Workers’ Party operatives were caught trying to buy a dossier apparently aimed at incriminating Alckmin’s party in a corruption scandal.When Lula was first elected in 2002 he pledged to clean up Brazilian politics.Instead he has presided over a slew of corruption scandals that cost his chief of staff, his finance minister and other top aides their jobs.Nampa-ReutersAlckmin, who campaigned as a squeaky-clean alternative to the scandal-plagued Lula, oozed confidence after the final results came in before dawn yesterday.”I’m going to the second round with a great chance of winning the election.We’re going to have an ethical, honest and efficient government,” he told a crowd of cheering supporters in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s business capital.Lula finished with 48,6 per cent of the votes in the first round while Alckmin took 41,6 per cent.The Lula camp had hoped to avoid a second round of voting, which will give the opposition more time to rally support and potentially dig up further evidence of shady campaign tactics by the ruling Workers’ Party.Until recently Lula appeared to be coasting to re-election, bolstered by the support of the poor and working class whose economic fortunes improved on his watch.But his popularity began to dwindle two weeks ago after Workers’ Party operatives were caught trying to buy a dossier apparently aimed at incriminating Alckmin’s party in a corruption scandal.When Lula was first elected in 2002 he pledged to clean up Brazilian politics.Instead he has presided over a slew of corruption scandals that cost his chief of staff, his finance minister and other top aides their jobs.Nampa-Reuters