You scratch my back . . .

MAYORS and state governors in Brazil have long been masters of ingenuity when it comes to raising cash to secure their power bases. Their spendthrift ways are one source of the country's stubbornly high budget deficit and rising public debt. But they may be more sinister than that. Since last year, a Senate committee has been investigating alleged fraud in the issue of bonds worth a total of more than $1 billion by three states and by the city of Sao Paulo. Spurred on and aided by the media, it has unearthed some odd goings-on—and some high-flying careers are now at risk.