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- WORLD, Page 64World NotesBRAZILCupid in the Cabinet
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- Love is blooming in Brazil, where private affairs can arouse
- public passions. Justice Minister Bernardo Cabral, 58, was
- forced to resign this month after the press revealed his
- romance with fellow Cabinet member Zelia Cardoso de Mello, the
- Economy Minister. Their relationship became common knowledge
- after Cabral, who is married, and Cardoso de Mello, who is
- single, openly danced cheek to cheek at her 37th birthday
- party. Cardoso de Mello's love life had become the subject of
- speculation after a reporter spotted an engagement ring on her
- finger.
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- Despite a poll that said 90% of Brazilians did not consider
- the affair sufficient reason for dismissal, President Fernando
- Collor de Mello was worried that the scandal might damage his
- administration's credibility. His sensitivity is
- understandable: three weeks ago, a woman from the state of
- Alagoas claimed that the President was the father of her
- 10-year-old son. Last month a candidate for governor in the
- state of Rio Grande do Sul was hurt by allegations from his
- former wife that he had deserted their three children. And in
- the state of Amazonas, gubernatorial candidate Gilberto
- Mestrinho was attacked by his opponents for having nine
- children by four women. But the snickering slogan "Vote for
- Mestrinho -- he could be your father" backfired: Mestrinho won
- by a landslide.
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