MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cardoso warns about the “Argentina syndrome”

“If the coming elected authorities of Brazil are incompetent, the country runs the risk of turning into a new Argentina”, warned Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso who has become directly involved in the campaign trail.

Just five months away from the presidential election next October and with his hand picked candidate José Serra trailing far behind Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who this week reached a 40% vote intention according to the latest polls, Mr. Cardoso has began to play the Argentine scare card.

His statement about incompetence not only refers to former Argentine president Fernando De la Rúa, whom now it's known Mr. Cardoso considered too weak politically, but to Lula, the former trade union leader in his fourth attempt to the presidential office.

"With incompetence, and I don't want to mention any candidates name, the country will loose its current achievements", underlined President Cardoso, who faces an uphill task to support Mr. Serra.

By forcing his close friend Jose Serra as candidate, Mr. Cardoso split the ruling coalition and several decisive parties and groups are refusing to collaborate in the campaign and have abandoned the man who has never mustered more than 17% of vote intention so far.

Actually even if Mr. Lula finally wins he will need Congressional support to rule, including from those right wing and conservative parties that helped Mr. Cardoso in his two presidential periods.

So Mr. Serra and now Mr. Cardoso are in the campaign trail directly linking Mr. Lula "(in) competence" to the frustrated leftish Alianza experience of Mr. De la Rúa and Chacho Alvárez that left Argentina bankrupt and in political disarray.

According to the latest Ibope poll, Mr. Lula reached this week 40% vote intention, up from 35% last month, while Mr. Serra is second best together with Anthony Garotinho, Rio do Janeiro's governor who is running as an independent candidate, mustered 16%.

Mr. Serra's extremely poor showing in the polls has had a direct impact in the Sao Paulo stock exchange, Brazilian bonds and international risk credit rating.