This past fall, Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is Too Damn High Party achieved Youtube fame for his exploits as a gubernatorial candidate in New York. If you've never heard of him, do yourself a favor and check him out on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4o-TeMHys0). Brazil has its own version of Jimmy McMillan. But instead of being a fringe candidate more adept at winning internet clicks than actual votes, Brazil's version received over 1 million votes and is now a Congressman from Sao Paulo.
Here's what happened...
Tiririca, a singer and clown whose name, loosely translated, means Grumpy was elected in October to represent the state of São Paulo, Brazil’s largest, receiving 1.3m votes. His campaign ads showed him jumping around in a multi-coloured suit and blonde wig, with slogans such as: “Vote for me! It couldn’t get any worse”, and “What does a federal deputy do? I don’t know, but vote for me and I’ll find out.” He only just scraped through the literacy test he had to take when some ex-colleagues on a television show claimed he couldn’t read or write (Brazil bars illiterates from high office). Since taking his seat he has performed roughly as expected: he accidentally opposed the government in last week’s vote to set the minimum wage by pushing the wrong button.
The rest of the article, which is interesting throughout, is here: http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2011/02/brazils_politics
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