Brazil Putting His Best Foot Forward

President-elect Collor is young, attractive -- and in need of luck

In political terms, he came from nowhere: a well-bred landowner's son and former governor from the tropical hinterland who compared himself with Jimmy Carter. The similarities do not go far: like Carter, he ran against the federal government, tilting at its waste and mismanagement, but when it came to down-and-dirty campaigning, he seemed more like Richard Nixon. The combination worked: last week, after a heated runoff election, Fernando Collor de Mello, 40, won 43% of the vote, vs. his leftist opponent's 38%, to emerge as Brazil's first popularly elected President in 29 years. Scheduled to take office in Brasilia on March...

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