BRAZILIANS WORK ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE OF A CAR FACTORY, 1998-09-30 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH STORY BC-BRAZIL-WORLD - Brazilians work on the assembly line of a car factory in the city of Indiatuba, 110 km north east of Sao Paulo, where they produce up to 20,000 cars a year. With 160 million people and an $800 billion economy, Brazil's recent economic peril is giving the nation the attention it says has long deserved. Yet economic uncertainly has completely overshadowed the October 4 general election, where President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is expected to win a second term. Brazil has taken a more geopolitical role, heading South America's four-nation Mercosur trade bloc and has moved from the lowest to highest category of the United Nation's Human Development Index. Picture taken 18SEP98. PW/ELD/SB