巴西艺名特里里卡的佛朗西斯科•席尔瓦的小丑在3日举行的国会大选中，以全国最高票在巴西最大省圣保罗省脱颖而出，当选国会议员，得票数是第二名的两倍多，更为雷人的是，这位小丑竟然还是个文盲。

Handout¹ undated photo released by Tiririca\s press campaign office of Brazilian newly elected federal deputy Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, known as clown Tiririca. Tiririca scooped² up 1.3 million votes in Sunday\s polls to represent Sao Paulo, the highest number of votes for any federal deputy across the country." src="http://www.enread.com/upimg/allimg/101009/4_101009005406_1.jpg" width="399" height="276" />
Handout undated photo released by Tiririca\s press campaign office of Brazilian newly elected federal deputy Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, known as clown Tiririca. Tiririca scooped up 1.3 million votes in Sunday\s polls to represent Sao Paulo, the highest number of votes for any federal deputy across the country.

Voters the world over complain about having clowns（小丑） for politicians, but Brazilians embraced the idea on Sunday by sending a real one to Congress with more votes than any other candidate.

Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, better known by his clown name Tiririca, received more than 1.3 million votes in Sao Paulo state in Brazil's presidential and congressional elections. That was more than double the votes of the second-placed candidate in Brazil's most populous³（人口稠密的） state.

Tiririca caught the attention of disillusioned⁴（醒悟的） voters by asking for their support with the humorous slogan: "It can't get any worse" and a promise to do nothing more in Congress than report back to them on how politicians spend their time.

"What does a congressman⁵ do? The truth is I don't know, but vote for me and I'll tell you," the 45-year-old said in his campaign advertisements.

The clown, whose stage name means "grumpy（脾气坏的人） ," usually appears in public wearing a blond wig⁶（假发） , a red hat and a garish⁷（炫耀的） outfit⁸. He survived a last-minute attempt by public prosecutors⁹ to bar him from running because of evidence that he is illiterate¹⁰.

His candidacy may not have been as spontaneous（自发的） or innocent as it might appear.

Tiririca's well-financed campaign will help elect other politicians because under Brazil's election rules he can pass his substantial excess votes on to other candidates in his coalition¹¹, which includes the ruling Workers' Party.