Brazil: Choosing Sides

A step toward civilian rule

The two gatherings could not have been more different in style. The military-backed Social Democratic Party met at Brasilia's modern convention center, where a brass band blared, girls flounced in colored costumes, and banners, balloons and neon signs proclaimed the names of the party's two candidates. The opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party gathered in a building in the heart of the city, but apart from the crowded parking lot, it was hard to tell that a meeting was even taking place. There were no bands or pretty cheerleaders,...