erste Einschätzung zur Wahl in Brasilien - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[lvb28]

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Sept 8 (Reuters) - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's commanding lead over his main rival in Brazil's presidential race narrowed slightly in the past week but he is still expected to win in the first round, a poll showed on Friday.

The survey by polling firm Ibope, announced by Globo network on its evening TV news, showed Lula unchanged from a week ago at 48 percent in the first round, against 27 percent for Geraldo Alckmin of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party.

The last Ibope poll on Sept. 1 showed Alckmin with 25 percent in the first round, which will take place on Oct. 1.

Ibope said Lula was expected to win more than 50 percent of the valid votes, or more votes than all his rivals in the first round, which would guarantee him a second four-year term in the first round of the election.

If he fails to achieve that share of the votes, a second round would follow on Oct. 29.

The new poll surveyed 3,010 people from Tuesday to Thursday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

As the election draws near, campaign fund raising has begun to pick up for both the main candidates. Lula has managed to bounce back from a campaign financing scandal that brought down several close colleagues in his administration.

As a makeshift electoral reform, candidates are obliged to divulge their campaign financing books to an electoral tribunal.

The Lula campaign raised 17 million reais ($7.9 million) in August, up 299 percent from the month before, the treasurer and party president of Lula's Workers' Party said this week.

Alckmin, who is favored among the wealthy and many business leaders in Sao Paulo where he was governor, raised 21 million reais ($9.7 million) last month, up 1,487 percent from the month before, according to the electoral courts.

Lula who was campaigning in Rio de Janeiro on Friday responded to criticism from opposition parties he was essentially buying his re-election through social spending. Lula and his party have strong support among Brazil's poor.

Lula said spending on welfare programs increased to 23 billion reais ($10.65 billion) a year from 7 billion reais ($3.24 billion) during his government.

"There are people who think we ought not spend so much on the poor. For me, there isn't anything more sacred than putting a meal on the table of the poor," he said.

($1 2.159 reais)

[lvb28]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 23.862.211 von lvb28 am 10.09.06 16:50:35

Ein bisschen Wirtschaftspolitik

Brazil calls for resumption of WTO talks



RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim on Saturday called on wealthy countries to make a fresh effort to break deadlocked trade talks, as a group of developing nations met in Rio de Janeiro.

The gathering in Rio of the so-called G20 group marks the first time officials met since talks over the Doha round of trade talks collapsed in July. It also comes on the heels of meetings this week in which European and Asian countries also called for a resumption of the trade negotiations.

"The simple fact that we are meeting here shows our commitment toward the negotiations," Amorim said at the opening of the event. "What we are saying to the world is that for us, developing countries that need more access and less distortions, failure is simply not an option."

Since the World Trade Organization's Doha round of talks began in 2001, Brazil, India, Australia and other countries that rely heavily on agriculture exports have focused on trying to cut subsidies and trade barriers the United States and the European Union give to cotton, sugar and other products.

European nations and the United States have been unwilling to give in unless they get more access to services and manufacturing in developing nations.

Amorim renewed developing nations' demands.

"We all know the distortions and restrictions imposed by rich countries in agriculture are the central element (causing) the negative impact that is afflicting international trade," he said.

European Union central bankers and finance ministers on Saturday urged the speedy revival of the Doha trade talks to avoid damaging economic growth. On Friday, finance ministers of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, pledged in Hanoi to work on restarting the negotiations.