A SURPRISE showing by the Green candidate has forced Brazil’s presidential race to a second round as the anointed successor of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva fell just short of outright victory in Sunday’s voting.
Heavily backed by the hugely popular Lula, Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party won 46.91 per cent of the vote, just over three points shy of the 50 per cent required to avoid a run-off round at the end of the month. She will now face Social Democrat José Serra, the former governor of São Paulo state, who won 32.61 per cent.
Mr Serra, who ran a lacklustre campaign, owes his place in the run-off to the late surge by environmentalist Marina Silva, who surpassed all expectations and took almost a fifth of the vote. Having hovered around 10 per cent for much of the race, Ms Silva saw her support spike as the campaign drew to a close. The rise came at the expense of Ms Rousseff, whom opinion polls over several months showed heading for a knock-out victory in the first round.
But in the final weeks Ms Rousseff’s campaign was hit by accusations of corruption among close aides. Evangelical Christians also mounted a campaign against her because of the Workers Party’s liberal stance on abortion. This favoured Ms Silva, an evangelical Christian who opposes abortion, which is illegal in most instances in Brazil.
Despite the euphoria of Mr Serra and his supporters late on Sunday night he has a steep hill to climb if he is to overtake Ms Rousseff, who finished 14.3 per cent ahead of him.
Lula’s former cabinet chief will need to convince just 15 per cent of those who voted for Ms Silva – for years a leading colleague in the Workers Party before she switched to the Greens last year – to opt for her at the end of the month in order to win a majority. Even before counting was finished on Sunday night both the Rousseff and Serra campaigns were attempting to enter into negotiations with Ms Silva, who has not endorsed either of her rivals.
Since the return of democratic presidential elections in 1989, three of the five previous contests have gone to a second round and each time the candidate who polled highest in the first round went on to become president.
Mr Lula and his allies had a better night in congressional races. Government parties will now dominate the senate, controlling at least 57 of the 81 seats. With a three-fifths majority, the ruling coalition will have the numbers to approve constitutional amendments.
During Mr Lula’s eight years in power an evenly balanced senate was a constant thorn in his side and during the campaign he worked assiduously to defeat several prominent opposition senators. His coalition also increased its grip on Brazil’s lower house, with its deputies now holding 60 per cent of the 513 seats.
The opposition had better luck in gubernatorial races. Mr Serra’s Social Democrats elected four governors, including those of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, Brazil’s two most populous states, with allies winning a further three contests. The government won 11 state races with nine others to be decided by a second round.