Brazilian Replaces Running Mate in Presidential Race

Brazil’s leftist presidential contender Luis Inacio (Lula) da Silva changed his vice presidential running mate Wednesday, choosing his closest economic strategist to campaign with him in a bid to halt a recent slide in opinion polls.

Aloizio Mercadante, a leading member of Lula’s Workers’ Party, was selected for the party’s vice presidential ticket at an overnight meeting between the party and its allies that ended early Wednesday.

He replaced Socialist Sen. Jose Paulo Bisol, who has been embroiled for almost a month in a dispute over alleged financial irregularities and nepotism--charges denied by Bisol.

Lula and the Workers’ Party leadership originally stood by Bisol. But as the dispute unfolded, polls showed Lula losing the big lead he had held in the race for the presidential elections, the first round of which begins Oct. 3.

A poll by the private Ibope group published Wednesday showed Lula’s lead over his closest rival, former Economy Minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso, falling to just three percentage points from 15 points two weeks ago.