MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil ready for first television clash between Dilma Rousseff and Serra

Dilma confident under the umbrella of her popular master

Brazil’s main presidential candidates will be holding their first televised debate Thursday evening less than two months to voting day October 3. The debate has been organized by Bandeirantes Television and will also include two other candidates with lesser chance, so all eyes will be set on incumbent Dilma Rousseff and opposition leader Jose Serra

According to the latest Ibope public opinion polls released last weekend Ms Rousseff is five points ahead of Serra 39% to 34%, while Green party hopeful Marina Silva figures with 7% and Arruda Sampaio, Socialism and Liberty party, with 2%.

Until fifteen days ago Ms Rousseff and Serra were technically tied in what is considered the tightest presidential race since the return of democracy to Brazil in 1985.

The debate will turn out to be a real test for Ms Rousseff, President Lula da Silva’s former cabinet chief and handpicked as candidate by the popular Brazilian leader, since she has never held an elected post and has no campaigning experience while Serra has been mayor, governor, deputy, senator and presidential candidate.

Furthermore the participation of Ms Silva and Mr Arruda both dissidents of Lula da Silva’s Workers Party, and standing to her left, could complicate things.

Ms Silva was Environment minister with Lula da Silva and left in 2008 after squabbling with Ms Rousseff regarding development projects for the Amazon basin.

Mr Arruda belongs to the founding group of the Workers Party together with Lula da Silva in 1980, but stepped down in 2005 following a major corruption scandal in Congress which forced the resignation of some of the closest advisors and ministers of the Brazilian leader.

Both dissident hopefuls attack Ms Rousseff for having abandoned “ethic principles and the Socialist ideas” which geared the founders of the Workers’ Party.

However government strategists feel confident Ms Rousseff can face the challenge based on the immense prestige and popular support for President Lula da Silva (averaging a record 80%), plus the aggressive campaigning of the Brazilian leader who has gone as far as saying that Dilma is the incarnation “of Lula da Silva in a woman”.

The debate will be divided in six blocks with the four candidates answering questions from a panel of journalists, public opinion and among themselves.

Given the size of Brazil and its population (200 million) three more debates have been planned in different channels; RedTV, September 12; TVRecord, August 28 and Red Globo, August 30.

Besides Rousseff and Serra have been invited to participate in the first ever internet presidential candidates’ debate scheduled for August 18 and sponsored by UOL and Folha de Sao Paulo, one of the leading newspapers of the mega polis.