SAO PAULO - As hundreds of thousands of young Catholic pilgrims descend on Brazil, World Youth Day coordinators in Rio de Janeiro are putting the finishing touches on preparations for up to 2.5 million people.

Through the early days of the federal election, there was no shortage of information and opinion about issues ranging from the economy, environment, health care, military commitments and foreign aid. This is all in addition to the only topic most people are actually talking about: Whether we needed another trip to the polls at all.

Issues with a clear-cut relationship to Catholic teaching concerning the right to life or other social-justice matters have not loomed large so far. Nevertheless, as regular readers of The Register know, these issues did emerge in the most recent Parliament and remain in the background.  

In the media, political advertising started before the election was even called, and much of it is being described as “attack” advertising. Early in the campaigns, the ads have not been vicious but they merit the “attack” label because they project negative portrayals of party leaders rather than focussing on parties or policies. Despite charges that one party or another is more prone to this type of advertising, the reality is they all do it. As the campaign heats up, expect ads to become more strident and more personal.