A look at two forthcoming elections: the November midterms in California, and the second round of Brazil’s general election on Oct 28. Gustavo Arrellano of Orange County, author of Ask a Mexican and Taco USA, wrote in a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed that “The Spotlight may be on the OC, but Democrats are building for the long haul in the Central Valley” — in other words, he explains why winning blue in Bakersfield and Fresno is even more important than in Republican OC — and, says it could be a template for winning back small towns and rural America.

Suzi then talks to Matthew Richmond in Sao Paulo about the Oct 28 second round of the general election. The ultra-right-wing Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal party is ahead of the PT’s Fernando Haddad (as Lula sits in jail), and we get Matthew Richmond’s analysis of how Bolsonaro was able to gain a formidable base among the poor — and why these constituencies support Bolsonaro when his economic policies will hurt them.

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