Snow in Brazil

US Treasury Secretary John Snow is travelling in Brazil and met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Finance Minister Antonio Palocci Monday. This is the third visit of a Bush administration official to the country since March and comes amid a corruption scandal that threatens to cut into Lula´s popularity ahead of next year´s presidential election. Snow declined to make direct comments about the scandal, saying it is a domestic issue. Addressing generally the subject of corruption in an interview with a Brazilian TV network last week, Snow said that it hurts democracy, markets, investor confidence and economic growth.