Lula wants Mr Sarney to swing the weight of the PMDB, and its patronage machine, behind Dilma Rousseff, the probable candidate of the ruling Workers' Party in the presidential election next year.

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But the districts in general have seen their reputations swing dramatically from innovative inner-city rejuvenator to budget sham of the political machine, thanks largely to the reporting of Ben Joravsky of the Chicago Reader.

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