Lefty Dilma Rousseff way out in front in Brazil

[rabs]

Latest poll out today has her with 43 percent and opponent José Serra with 32 percent. Rousseff is of Lula's Workers Party.



Serra is of the more centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party. He was forced into a 14-year exile (1964-1978) from the Brazilian military dictatorship. He is former mayor of Sao Paulo and former governor of Sao Paulo state.

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Interesting fact about Brazilian elections:

Tuesday night was the beginning of FREE electoral propaganda on Brazil's nationwide radio and television networks and stations. The ads can be transmitted only TWICE a day, during prime audience hours. This will last until Sept. 30, three days before the elections.

(Leave it to Brazil to come up with this novel idea. Compare that to the obscene millions upon millions spent on TV/radio ads in the United States in the run-up to elections.)

[rabs]

1. Another poll out today gives her even larger lead

She has opened up a 16-point lead over Serra. If the election were today, she would win in the first round.


Vox Populi: Dilma tem 16 pontos à frente e venceria no 1° turno


Portal Terra


DA REDAÇÃO - A candidata do PT à presidência da República, Dilma Rousseff, abriu 16 pontos na liderança da corrida presidencial e chegou a 45% das intenções de voto, contra 29% do candidato do PSDB, José Serra, segundo pesquisa Vox Populi divulgada nesta terça-feira (17) pelo Jornal da Band. Se a eleição fosse hoje, a candidata petista venceria no primeiro turno, já que os adversários somados não ultrapassam as intenções de voto de Dilma.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Saw your news, crossed my fingers, found this article:

Serra slides again in poll, seeks TV comeback August 18 2010 , 6:17:00

Brazil's presidential contenders took to the airwaves yesterday with free advertisements in what may be opposition candidate Jose Serra's last chance to reverse a rapid slide in opinion polls. The ruling party's Dilma Rousseff raced to her biggest lead yet on Tuesday as a new poll showed her 16 percentage points ahead of Serra. It was the third poll in less than a week showing her with a decisive lead ahead of the October 3 vote, raising the chances she can avoid a second run-off vote at the end of October. If she wins, she will become Brazil's first woman president.

In a country where print media and Internet have a relatively low penetration, both sides believe the free TV and radio advertising that began yesterday can help them. The TV exposure will introduce Rousseff to the 9% of voters who have still not heard of her and the nearly one-quarter who are not aware she is backed by hugely popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

For former Sao Paulo Governor Serra, who sometimes comes across as cold and aloof, the TV campaign is a chance to connect with voters and remind them of his vast executive experience compared to the relatively untested Rousseff. Serra's ads tried to showcase his managerial experience and give the often dour-faced 68 year-old a warmer, common touch. He was repeatedly referred to as "Ze," a common, casual nickname for people called Jose.

Serra steered clear of outright attacks against the Lula administration, saying simply that Brazil could do better in health, education, public security and transportation. Rousseff, Lula's former chief of staff, has benefited from a red-hot economy and the president's enormous popularity to turn a 20 percentage point gap last December into an 8-11 point lead over Serra, who lost to Lula in 2002.

The Vox Populi poll released on Tuesday showed her with 45% support versus Serra's 29%. It is the second of three polls released in the past week, showing her with more than the 50% needed for a first-round victory if abstentions and blank votes are excluded, as they are in the election.

More:
http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=a6183482a638a210VgnVCM10000077d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&channelPath=World

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Thanks for explaining the structure, requirements of tv advertising. We have gone far beyond anything resembling equitable, honest, democratic campaigning via tv here.

We DO need far more intelligence, and good judgement, like Brazil's.

Sure hoping Dilma Rousseff will be able to stay in front. THANK YOU. :hi:

Recommending.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Just discovered the guy running against Dilma Rousseff is the same guy Lula beat!

Leftist Handily Wins Brazilian Presidential Race
By LARRY ROHTER
Published: October 28, 2002

RIO DE JANEIRO, Monday, Oct. 28— Brazil took a decisive turn to the left on Sunday, electing as its new president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party, a former factory worker, labor union leader and political prisoner who has never before held executive office. The margin of victory for Mr. da Silva was the largest in Brazilian history.

With 99 percent of the ballots tallied in Sunday's runoff, Mr. da Silva was leading handily with 61.2 percent of the vote, compared with 38.8 percent for his rival, José Serra of the centrist Brazilian Social Democratic Party, which has governed this nation of 175 million people for the past eight years. His dominance, with nearly 52 million votes, gives him an indisputable mandate to remake Latin America's most populous country.

''This is a true landslide, an historic shift of direction, which shows how much this country wants change,'' said Candido Mendes, a leading political scientist here and the author of ''Lula: An Option More Than a Vote.'' ''Lula has won in every region of the country and at every strata of society.''

Mr. da Silva's resounding victory is also likely to reverberate abroad, energizing the left throughout Latin America and further unnerving international financial markets. The Workers' Party has been a consistent critic of the United States and the values it espouses, and has promised to reduce what it calls Brazil's economic and political ''subservience'' to foreign interests.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/28/world/leftist-handily-wins-brazilian-presidential-race.html?ref=jose_serra

Good Luck to Dilma Rousseff.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Bloomberg: Rousseff Doubles Lead in Brazil Presidential Poll Showing First-Round Win

Rousseff Doubles Lead in Brazil Presidential Poll Showing First-Round Win
By Helder Marinho - Aug 17, 2010 11:17 PM CT

Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff doubled her lead to 16 percentage points over opposition candidate Jose Serra, according to a Vox Populi poll published by IG website.

Support for Rousseff, former cabinet chief to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, rose to 45 percent from 41 percent in the previous poll taken July 17-20, IG said yesterday. Those surveyed favoring Serra, the former governor of Sao Paulo state, fell to 29 percent from 33 percent, while Green Party candidate Marina Silva’s support was unchanged at 8 percent.

The Vox Populi poll is the second to be released in as many days showing the Workers’ Party candidate heading toward a victory in the first round of balloting Oct. 3 after an Ibope poll published Aug. 16 showed her with an 11 percentage points lead over Serra.

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-18/rousseff-doubles-lead-in-brazil-presidential-poll-showing-first-round-win.html

[Peace Patriot]

5. Excellent news! Thank you! nt