"As Brazil goes," said an animated Richard Nixon in 1971, "so will the rest of the Latin American continent." Indeed, since its 1964 coup set the stage for a wave of military takeovers on the continent, Brazil has been regarded as the center of gravity of South American politics.
If only for that reason, the elections last week of aldermen and mayors in 3,968 municipalities had more than local import. Their significance was further heightened by the intense nationwide campaign waged by President Ernesto Geisel, 68, the Brazilian military's hand-picked chief of...
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