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House Speaker Hugo Motta has been unusually explicit regarding the price for his political loyalty. In interviews this week in his home state of Paraíba, Motta said he would wait for “gestures” from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before deciding whether to back the president’s re-election bid later this year.

The specific gesture Motta is seeking is for Lula to endorse the Senate candidacy of his father, Nabor Wanderley, the mayor of the city of Patos. Last year, Wanderley appeared alongside Lula in a photograph that the speaker’s camp hoped would serve as “down payment” on a future endorsement.

Two Senate seats are up for grabs in each state. However…

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