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Brazil’s Rousseff Closes in on Serra
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Dilma Rousseff is quickly gaining momentum and is now closer to presidential frontrunner Jose Serra in Brazil, according to a poll by Datafolha published in Folha de Sao Paulo. 32 per cent of respondents would vote for Serra, governor of Sao Paulo and candidate of the conservative Brazilian Party of Social Democracy (PSDB), down five points since December.
Rousseff, chief of staff of the current government and candidate of the ruling Workers’ Party (PT), is a close second with 28 per cent, up five points. Support is lower for Ciro Gomes of the Socialist People’s Party (PSB), and Marina Silva of the Green Party (PV).
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva—a member of the PT—won the October 2002 presidential election with 61 per cent of the vote in a run-off against Serra. In October 2006, he earned a new four-year term, defeating PSDB candidate Geraldo Alckmin with 60.8 per cent of the vote in the second round.
Lula has publicly endorsed Rousseff as his preferred successor. On Feb. 20, the PT officially selected Rousseff as the party’s presidential candidate.
On Mar. 3, former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso—who defeated Lula twice in presidential elections as a PSDB candidate—said that Lula’s anointed successor is not unbeatable in the next election, declaring, "If Lula were competing no one would be able to defeat him because he has a very strong link with the population. Dilma has no leadership, she has no contact with Congress."
Lula is ineligible for a third term in office. The first round of Brazil’s next presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 3.
Polling Data
Which candidate would you vote for in the 2010 presidential election?
|
Feb. 2010 |
Dec. 2009 |
Aug. 2009 |
|
|
Jose Serra (PSDB) |
32% |
37% |
37% |
|
Dilma Rousseff (PT) |
28% |
23% |
16% |
|
Ciro Gomes (PSB) |
12% |
13% |
15% |
|
Marina Gomes (PV) |
9% |
8% |
n.a. |
|
Heloisa Helena (PSOL) |
n.a. |
n.a. |
12% |
|
Blank vote / None of these |
19% |
19% |
12% |
Source: Datafolha / Folha de Sao Paulo
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,624 Brazilian adults, conducted on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, 2010. Margin of error is 2 per cent.
