President Lula da Silva's top aide, Erenice Guerra (pictured), resigned over an influence-peddling scandal. The media reported that members of her family and other associates allegedly secured kickbacks in exchange for government contracts. Guerra is also a former aide to Dilma Rousseff, Lula's handpicked successor as president, who leads with 51% support in recent polls.
"It's a distraction that reminds voters that these sort of corruption issues are still a systemic part of the political climate in Brazil," said analyst Christopher Garman.