Numbers of the week: Oct. 12, 2019

This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. Random numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. This week: Bolsonaro changing parties again? Plus, oil spills on the Brazilian coast, a rare month of deflation, Neymar’s 100th cap for Brazil, millionaire funds with drug cartel’s assets, Brazil’s newest saint, the wage gap between the public and private sector.

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9 different parties

After a video on social media showed President Jair Bolsonaro telling a supporter to “forget” the Social Liberal Party (PSL)—of which Mr. Bolsonaro is a member—the situation inside the political group became tense. Behind the scenes, advisors confirmed that the president intends to leave the party, while PSL chairman Luciano Bivar stated that Mr. Bolsonaro “no longer has any relationship” with the group. After hearing that many of his allied representatives would be unwilling to jump ship for fear of losing their terms, the president backed down, stating that he wouldn’t abandon the PSL, leaving the matter up in the air. Regardless, switching parties has never been a problem for Brazil’s far-right leader. Since the beginning of his public life in 1989, he has affiliated himself to nine parties: the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), the Progressive Party (PP, twice), the Reform Progressive Party (PPR), the Party of the Brazilian People...