in program was a "moron", over a remark the listener made about Switzerland. To make matters worse, it was Gomes who appeared the moron as it was he who eventually made a factual error about the Swiss system of government. But Gomes produced an even more amazing gaffe this week, when asked by a journalist whether his girlfriend, wellknown actress Patricia Pillar, played an important role at his side during the campaign. Gomes replied: "My companion has one ofthe most important roles, which is to sleep with me. I would say that is a fundamental role." Observers believe the Serra camp has made good use ofthe first few days of free television airtime, to bring Gomes back within reach. This is probably true, but Gomes himselfmust shoulder some ofthe blame. When his rating first surged, he was not well known among the general public and appeared young, fresh and new. However, over the last month his face has become familiar, and it looks as though familiarity is beginning to lead to contempt. We have expressed our concerns about Gomes' failings several times and will not repeat them here, but in our view, he is dangerous, and along with the populist Garotinho, the worst candidate. It looks as though the public is beginning to see the hollow reality beh ind the image. The public has a short memory, and just as it took him to its breast in an instant, so it may discard him with equal speed. One should remember Maranhdo state Governor Roseana Sarney, the public's darling less than a year ago according to opinion polls, who is now out of the running... It's also hard to resist comparing Gomes with Brazilian national football team Manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who became an overnight hero when the team won the World Cup earlier this year in Korea and Japan. Two months after the big win, Scolari's popularity is already fading, partly because he announced his resignation from the squad, which promptly lost its first game following the World Cup triumph—and last match under Scolari' s leadership—at home to Paraguay. Scolari had previously praised Gomes and announced his intention of voting for him. It was no coincidence that the match was held in Fortaleza, where Gomes was once mayor. In a nauseating attempt to link Gomes with the world champions, the candidate was pictured holding a Brazilian shirt bearing number 23, a reference to his electoral code number. One hates to see Brazil lose a game but, in this case, it was good to see Gomes, at least, humili-
ated. Did voters, however, see any sym bolism in his being associated with losing team? The news of Serra' s improved rating is good for the PT because it gives Lul time to sit back, bask in his newfoun respectability, and watch Serra and Gom s fight it out. As for Lula himself, he s weaving the most tangled of tangled we s to become president. We have alrea pointed out the strange alliance he repr sents, which includes the Brazilian Co munist Party and the evangelically-o ented PL (Liberal Party), along with oth r strange bedfellows most people outsi e Brazil will not have heard of. His runni mate is the millionaire owner of a text le firm. On the day the IBOPE poll was p lished, Lula was photographed shaki g hands with former President Jose Sa y of the PMDB, an old-style political bi ss from the Northeast who represents verything the PT supposedly despis s. Sarney and Lula are, of course, still m es apart in ideology. But by backing L la, Sarney is getting back at Serra, who he blames for a police raid on a comp ny owned by daughter Roseana. The id uncovered huge sums of cash, and le to an ongoing criminal investigation." he enemy of my enemy is my friend", s ms up this unlikely love match. Lula is now in a position that w uld have been hard to imagine not that 1 ng ago. He has the support of not just me, but two former presidents, since It ar Franco, the Governor of Minas G rais states, has decided to back him. ula might even end up with support fro the incumbent, President Fernando Hen que Cardoso, if Serra flops in the first r und and we have a Lula-Gomes runoff.
The PT candidate is aware of the irony of his position. "Now I have the support oftwo former presidents, Sarney and hamar Franco. I just don't want the support of Fernando Collor" he said recently, in a reference to the former president who stepped down 10 years ago as he was about to be impeached following allegations of corruption. Finally, in passing, I would like to mention the astonishing lack of security at a public rally I attended last week, which featured an address by Lula. The rally was held outside So Paulo's downtown Municipal Theatre, in the middle of a hot afternoon. Lula and the PT leadership were addressing supporters from atop a rather rickety platform. The PT claimed 10,000 were there, while the police put the figure at 3,000. To me, both figures were inflated. However, what concerned me was the lack of visible security. There were a few police cars on the periphery, but no uniformed police near the platform. I was about 15 feet away from Lula, with only a few people between me and the candidate, and I could easily have gotten closer. Although I was carrying a bag on my shoulder, no one questioned me. The entire potential future leadership of the country could have been wiped out in a few seconds, if anyone had that intention in mind. One assumes that Lula has his own personal bodyguards, but I have seen much tighter security outside a bingo hall than surrounding the leading presidential candidate. When I later commented on this, Brazilians pooh-poohed any idea that Lula could be in physical danger. "The people like him, no one would hurt him", one person said, recalling that he had seen Lula speak during the military regime, unafraid of army helicopters hovering overhead. Let' s hope the Brazilians are right, but some tightening of security is definitely required. The last thing Brazil needs at this point is an assassination attempt on the leading candidate. John Fitzpatrick is a Scoftish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1987 and has lived in SAo Paulo since 1995. He writes on politics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic Comunicacoes - wvvw.celt.com.br, which specializes in editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at iMcelt.com.br
You can read John Fitzpatrick's articles in Infobrazil at www.infobrazil.com 19
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