Bolsonaro’s campaign relies on ‘secret budget’ payoffs to win Brazil’s election

The government slush fund, which amounts to about one-fifth of the entire discretionary spending budget, has little or no oversight

When historians write books about why so many Brazilians voted for the far-right they will justifiably focus on ideological, political and social issues. But there is another key reason why President Jair Bolsonaro is still competitive as Sunday's run-off ballot approaches: he's handing out billions from a government slush fund.

The fund is known as the secret budget" because there is little or no oversight over where the money goes once it is handed to lawmakers.