BRAZIL: Slow, Gradual

A promise of more democracy

A country of 120 million people can not be ruled by a President chosen by a single man and ratified by a handful of others." So said Brazil's losing presidential candidate, Euler Bentes Monteiro, but he was wrong. To the surprise of no one, the country's electoral college—heavily weighted in favor of the pro-government Alliance for National Renewal (ARENA)—chose General Joao Baptista Figueiredo, 60, to succeed retiring President Ernesto Geisel for a six-year term beginning in March. The predictable vote was 355 for Figueiredo, vs. 226 for...

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