Economist: Dilma Rouseff Annointed by Lula to Carry Brazil's Presidency

The candidate of the Brazilian Workers Party, Dilma Rouseff (L), speaks during the inaugural act of her campaing at party hearquarters in Brasilia, Brazil, 13 July 2010. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Dilma Rouseff, Brazil's presidential candidate of Bulgarian origin, has high chances to win the elections in October 2010 primarily thanks to the firm backing of outgoing President Lula da Silva, according to The Economist.

In an article entitled “Reflected Glory: Lula’s Lady Is on Course to Inherit His Presidency“, The Economist describes Dilma Rouseff “a political neophyte: an adviser and bureaucrat who was almost unknown just a couple of years ago, and who has never before fought, let alone won, an election.”

Yet, even though her opponent Jose Sera of the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy is supposed to have the advantage because of his rich record, he is now falling behind in the presidential race of the largest Latin American nation because of the staunch support by extremely popular President Lula da Silva for Rouseff, the candidate that he personally promoted.

The Economist cites polls showing that Sera is 5%-10% behind Dilma Rouseff, an economist whose father was a Bulgarian leftist before emigrating to South America.

“Ms Rousseff is hardly charismatic, and has a weakness for offering half-hour answers to one-line questions. Mr Serra’s problem is that Ms Rousseff is the anointed successor of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the current president. Four-fifths of Brazilians approve of Lula, and nearly half say that in the presidential election they would vote either for him (if the constitution did not bar him from a third consecutive term) or his candidate. Since selecting his successor Lula has praised her to the skies (she is “like Nelson Mandela”) and criss-crossed the country with her in tow. Now most Brazilians know who Lula’s candidate is—and increasingly, they intend to vote for her,“ concludes The Economist.

On August 5th, the day of the first televised debate between candidates, one polling firm put Ms Rousseff on 41.6%, a ten-point lead over Mr Serra. Marina Silva of the Green Party came a distant third, on 9%. Thus, Rouseff even stands chances of winning an outright majority in the first round, avoiding a runoff.

“For Dilma it is simple: to persuade people that she represents Lula. But Serra has to remind people that Lula is not the candidate—and somehow do it without opposing, or preferably without even mentioning, Lula,“ ” says Rubens Figueiredo, a political consultant in São Paulo, as quoted by the magazine.

Full text of The Economist article on Dilma Rouseff and the Brazil Presidential Elections Read HERE

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