Bolsonaro locking up farm votes, with boost from ex-minister

By MAURICIO SAVARESE
Associated Press

CAMPO GRANDE, Brazil (AP) — President Jair Bolsonaro’s former agriculture minister has become the face of his campaign in Brazil’s agribusiness heartland — a part of the country where the conservative incumbent appears to be leading his leftist rival, ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.  Newly elected Senator  Tereza Cristina has been promoting the president’s pro-farm policies and boosting his uphill battle for reelection. Mato Grosso do Sul is small in population, but the race is close and Bolsonaro is counting on his appeal to rural voters to help him close the overall gap with da Silva.