BRAZIL: Top four presidential candidates attend last televised debate before elections

Record ID: 346027

  • Title: BRAZIL: Top four presidential candidates attend last televised debate before elections
  • Date: 2nd October 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) TOURISM AGENT SUSANA AZEVEDO, SAYING: "I believe this debate will be more interesting, the candidates are concerned in explaining some subjects to the population." LAWYER SERGIO LAMBERT DRINKING AT BAR (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) LAWYER SERGIO LAMBERT, SAYING: "Debates are important but the candidates should expose themselves more, explain more their policies and strategies." GENERAL VIEW OF BAR
  • Embargoed: 17th October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7PIKW6B5VS5JXUW3O4L1EZPOU
  • Story Text: Brazil's ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff sailed through the last TV debate before Sunday's presidential election, bolstered by another poll showing her with just enough support to win in the first round.
    Rousseff, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's former chief of staff, faced few real challenges from her three main rivals in a mostly uneventful debate on TV Globo, the country's largest and most influential television network, on Thursday (September 30), which also was the last day of political campaigns.
    Unlike in other debates in this campaign, there was no mention of recent ethics scandals involving Rousseff's party. Her closest rival, Jose Serra of the opposition PSDB party, mentioned a vote-buying scandal that rocked the Lula government in 2005 but largely steered clear of attacking the frontrunner.
    Serra and Rousseff did not engage each other directly at all in the late-night debate in which all candidates failed to showcase the kind of charisma that Brazilians have become used to under the wildly popular Lula, who cannot run for a third straight term.
    After the debate, Rousseff told reporters she was happy with the debate's level.
    "We are closing this electoral campaign and I would like to say to you that I thank candidate Serra, candidate Marina and candidate Plinio for having kept an excellent level during the debate," she said.
    During the two-hour-long debate, Rousseff was careful to tout Lula's achievements at every turn, clearly mindful of polls showing that most Brazilians want more of the same.
    Serra and the other two opposition candidates -- Green Party's Marina Silva and the outspoken socialist Plinio de Arruda Sampaio -- sought to link Rousseff to the Lula government's shortcomings, ranging from shabby healthcare to a chronic housing deficit.
    In a news conference after the debate, Serra asked for votes.
    "I would like to use this opportunity to ask each one of you, individually, for one vote. I know that everything is secret and journalists don't say what they think, but if you already have decided who to vote for, then get another vote," he told reporters.
    Silva, who has gained a few points in recent opinion polls at Rousseff's expense, looked emboldened at times, confidently challenging Serra's record at improving housing for the poor when he was governor of Sao Paulo state.
    On her way out of TV Globo studios, Silva said polls weren't showing the real size of her support.
    "I am very happy with the last moments of the campaign and very confident that we will have two women on a second-round vote. I will repeat: what's on the streets is much bigger than what polls manage to reach. And the Brazilian society has a great sense of justice," she said.
    TV Globo reaches the most distant corners of this continent-sized country with the biggest audience of any network, although the debate's timing after the nightly soap opera show may have put off many viewers.
    Bars in Rio de Janeiro were packed, but most TVs didn't have the debate on.
    In a bar in Copacabana, some voters stopped for a few minutes to watch the candidates discussing security, health and other issues. Tourism agent Susana Azevedo said she was going home to watch the last debate, which she expected to be more exciting than the last ones.
    "I believe this debate will be more interesting, the candidates are concerned in explaining some subjects to the population," she said.
    Lawyer Sergio Lambert said candidates should use the debate to showcase their platforms.
    "Debates are important but the candidates should expose themselves more, explain more their policies and strategies," she said.
    Before the debate, a survey by polling firm Datafolha showed Rousseff with 52 percent of valid votes, down from a peak of 57 percent two weeks ago but above the 50 percent threshold she needs to avoid a runoff on October 31. Serra had 31 percent of valid votes, slipping from 32 percent.
    A decision on voting procedures by Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday could further benefit Rousseff. The top tribunal voted to relax a rule that required voters to present both a registration card and photo identity card at the polling booth. Now voters will only need the photo ID.
    That may benefit poorer and less-educated voters, who often lack proper documentation and make up a large proportion of Rousseff's supporters.
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