Weekly Report - 13 March 2008 (ISSN 1741-7422)

President Lula da Silva is making no secret of the fact he is preparing his chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, for the presidential election in 2010. Last week, in front of thousands of residents of Rio de Janeiro's favelas, Lula called Rousseff the "mother" and the "chief" of the Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (PAC) - the government's plan to speed up growth through a series of, mainly, public investments. The local press claims that Lula's declarations are a sign that an "electoral agenda" lies behind the PAC. The government denies this is the case, but it is clear Lula is using the programme to promote the virtually unknown Rousseff.