First he underwent two sessions of intestinal surgery. Then internal hemorrhaging set in. Finally last week doctors rushed Brazilian President- elect Tancredo Neves, 75, by jet from the capital of Brasilia to yet another round of surgery in Sao Paulo. After 5 1/2 hours on the operating table, they described his condition as "satisfactory," adding that Neves had contracted an abdominal "hospital infection" that was "being controlled." Neves said little, but gave a thumbs-up sign to his Vice President, Jose Sarney, through a window of the intensive-care unit at Sao Paulo's Heart Institute.
That was not enough, however, to calm a...