Senior Writer
Willis Sparks
Senior Writer
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
Aug 17, 2018
Assuming Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, now in prison facing corruption charges, is not allowed to run for president this October, his Workers Party will likely choose Fernando Haddad as its candidate. Recent polls signal that one in four voters don’t know enough about Haddad to form an opinion.
And with less than two months until the election’s first round, every day that Lula refuses to accept he can’t run is a missed opportunity for Haddad to introduce himself. Quick facts: Haddad, 55, holds a doctorate in philosophy and served one term as Sao Paulo’s mayor. He won in 2012 with 55 percent of the vote and lost a bid for re-election in 2016 with just 17 percent — so maybe a closer look won’t help him.
