Economics
Lula’s Successor May Not Be the Bogeyman That Brazilian Investors Fear
- As Sao Paulo mayor, Haddad managed to keep a balanced budget
- Haddad wasn’t Lula’s first choice to carry on the baton
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Financial markets are just as spooked that former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad could become Brazil’s president as they were when his mentor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was elected 16 years ago.
Back then, Lula calmed investors by adopting market-friendly policies and appointing a respected economic team that oversaw rapid economic growth and made him a Wall Street darling. Chances are Haddad, who on Tuesday officially replaced Lula as the candidate of the Workers’ Party, would try a similar path. Only it won’t be as easy.