Literacy row threatens clown’s parliament bid

BRAZILIANS seem eager to put a clown in parliament – but the courts are not laughing about a new report that he does not meet a legal requirement to be able to read and write.

The Brazilian constitution says that members of Congress must be literate, and prosecutors said yesterday they want to force Tiririca – a name that means “grumpy” in colloquial Portuguese – to disprove the allegations.

Otherwise, he could be thrown out of office if he wins the election.