Lula to Seek 2nd Term; Vows to Keep Up Brazil's Inflation Fight

Lula to Seek 2nd Term; Vows to Keep Up Brazil's Inflation Fight

June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who steered the country's economy through its fastest expansion in a decade, is set to open his campaign for re-election today with pledges to create more jobs and wider prosperity.

Lula, 60, will tell a Workers' Party convention in Brasilia he accepts its nomination for a second, four-year term, lawmakers from the party said.

``He starts this race with a lot of strength,'' Henrique Fontana, a Workers' Party leader in the lower house, said in an interview from Porto Alegre, Brazil. ``Brazilians understand Lula is the best choice for this country and nobody wants to move backward.''

Lula heads into the race leading his opponents in a field that could grow to five candidates. After a congressional vote-buying scandal last year eroded public support and cost him dozens of top aides, his popularity has surged; three recent polls showed Lula would obtain more than 50 percent of the vote, enough to win outright on Oct. 1 and avoid a second, run-off election.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=al7_8xXBU6sE&refer=latin_america

to create a Basic Income Guarantee for all citizens.

He historically was on the far left, but he has decided to moderate a lot of his policies in order to foster economic growth while he has pushed through large minimum wage increases.

In a book I read about Venezuela recently, Chavez talks about a conversation he had with Lula in which they discussed how most of Brazil's business community are very patriotic and care about the nation and care about lifting people out of poverty. Most businesses in Brazil are owned by Brazilians who live in Brazil and who care whether their neighbors live in misery. Lula said that that makes his job easier. Chavez said that most of the people who own businesses (the TV stations, large ranches, etc.) live in Florida or Europe and don't really care about whether Venezuelans live in misery.

So, apparently, Lula has a good working relationship with the business community because they share the same goals.

Mercosur
Friday, 02 June

Lula da Silva looks unbeatable for Brazilian opposition

Brazil’s incumbent Socialist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seems comfortably on track to re-election elections next October reveals a new public opinion poll released this week by Rede O’Globo the country’s main network.

The survey, carried out by the Ibope Institute showed that if voting was held this week, Lula would win the first round with 48%. Runner up with 19% figures Geraldo Alckmin, the Social Democratic former governor of Sao Paulo state.

If undecided votes were set aside, Lula would take 63% of the ballots in the first round, avoiding a runoff and Alckmin 25% percent. In a hypothetical runoff between Lula and Alckmin, the score would be 53 and 31%.

The survey interviewed 2.002 eligible voters in 140 towns and cities May 28/31 with a margin error of 2%.
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http://www.mercopress.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=8035