Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has adopted a more combative re-election campaign strategy after opinion polls showed her trailing popular environmentalist candidate Marina Silva. Two election surveys this week showed Rousseff was the frontrunner in the first round ballot scheduled for October 5, but would lose to Silva, a former environment minister, in a likely runoff.
Presidential candidate Marina Silva has widened her lead over President Dilma Rousseff to 10 percentage points in what could be a likely runoff in Brazil's October election, a survey by polling firm Datafolha showed on Friday.
Brazil has fallen into recession, further weakening President Dilma Rousseff, just weeks before voting in what will be a tough re-election battle. Brazil's national statistics institute said Friday GDP shrank 0.6% in the second quarter and revised an initially positive first quarter growth estimate down to -0.2 percent.
Two economists with graduate studies in Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a lawyer considered one of the most influential members of Congress and with a PhD from Oxford, plus the heir of a banking empire, the largest in Brazil, and philanthropist, are identified as the closest aides and advisors of Marina Silva, with increasing chances of becoming Brazil's next president in October.
With less than two months to the crucial 5 October presidential election, Brazil's Central Bank continued to battle economic turmoil increasing the credit available for commercial loans in the hope of boosting the country’s stagnant growth figures.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff acknowledged many problems and challenges still plague the country's woeful heath system but defended her record on the economy and education on a live 15-minute interview on the Globo television network's nightly news.
Environmentalist Marina Silva could unseat incumbent Dilma Rousseff in Brazil's presidential elections in October, a public opinion poll revealed on Monday, reflecting an altered political landscape since Silva's running mate was killed in a plane crash last week.
The Brazilian Socialist Party plans to launch environmentalist Marina Silva as its presidential candidate this week, replacing party leader Eduardo Campos who was killed in a plane clash, a senior party official said over the weekend.
Brazilians pessimism about the future of the economy has increased considerably with just a few days left for the opening of the World Cup, according to a public opinion poll released by Pew Research.
President Dilma Rousseff said on Wednesday she will seek re-election in October, even though some are calling for the return of her popular predecessor president Lula da Silva. Rousseff, who belongs to Lula's Workers Party and was his protegée, said she hoped to have the support of all the parties allied with her government.