Mayor's backside, Dracula mark politicized Rio carnival parade President Michel Temer as Dracula, crooked politicians, and a scarecrow in effigy of Rio de Janeiro's mayor set the tone for this week's unusually politicized samba parades as the Rio carnival hits its peak. Even though the carnival is a huge revenue earner for the city, Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella has halved subsidies to the annual bash and refused so much as to attend the Sambodromo parades. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES