US Envoy Sounds Out Brazilian Candidates' Policies By REUTERS Filed at 8:16 p.m. ET
BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - A U.S. government envoy met in Brazil on Monday with the country's top security adviser and began a round of talks with representatives of the main presidential candidates to sound out their policies ahead of October elections.
Richard Haass, director of the State Department's Office of Policy Planning, said his talks aimed to ``expand dialogue on a great variety of topics of shared interest'' and to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues.
His visit comes six weeks before Oct. 6 presidential elections and one month after relations between Brazil and the United States were strained when U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill suggested that financial aid to Brazil could end up in Swiss bank accounts. The U.S. government defused the flap.
It also coincides with an offensive by Brazil's government to calm jittery U.S. and international investors over the possibility of a victory for an opposition candidate.
Haass, who met with advisers to the Brazilian ruling party's candidate Jose Serra on Monday and was set to meet representatives for two opposition candidates in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, said the United States ``expects to work well with whoever wins the election.''
Leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is leading the polls, with center-leftist Ciro Gomes running a close second. Serra, the candidate of the party of outgoing Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, trails in third.
The opposition candidates' lead has scared many U.S. investors, who fear an opposition victory could mean a rollback of market-friendly policies. Brazil was forced to secure a $30 billion International Monetary Fund loan to stem the turmoil.
Haass also met on Monday with Brazil's top security adviser Alberto Cardoso and the president's chief of staff, Pedro Parente. Cardoso oversees Brazil's battle against drug trafficking and the security of its borders.
Haass, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Donna Hrinak, told reporters he was confident that Brazil was ``a good partner,'' adding that Brazil and the United States had a lot in common both politically and economically.
Haass told reporters his talks with Alberto Cardoso and Parente were fruitful. He is set to travel to Sao Paulo on Tuesday before heading to Chile.