- Title: BRAZIL-ELECTION/ROUSSEFF WIN Brazil’s Rousseff reelected to a second term
- Date: 27th October 2014
- Summary: ROUSSEFF SUPPORTERS WAVING CAMPAIGN FLAGS VARIOUS OF ROUSSEFF SUPPORTERS CELEBRATING ROUSSEFF SUPPORTER WAVING A CAMPAIGN FLAG BEHIND HIM AND SMILING
- Embargoed: 11th November 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA7TZJAD58VC48SEQ2XNQGEUAD6
- Story Text: Brazil's leftist President Dilma Rousseff narrowly won re-election on Sunday (October 26) after convincing voters that her party's strong record of reducing poverty over the last 12 years was more important than a recent economic slump.
After one of the closest, most divisive campaigns in Brazil in decades, Rousseff won 51.6 percent of votes in a runoff against centrist opposition leader Aecio Neves, who won 48.4 percent with more than 99 percent of the votes tallied.
The result means another four years in power for the Workers' Party, which since 2003 has virtually transformed Brazil - lifting 40 million from poverty, reducing unemployment to record lows and making big inroads against hunger in what remains one of the world's most unequal countries.
Party supporters at a Brasilia hotel waved red flags and jumped up and down, screaming in celebration when it was clear their leader was re-elected.
Rousseff addressed the crowd saying her first priority in a second term would be political reform, promising to work with Congress on changes that the country demands.
She said she was better positioned as a leader after securing her second term.
"Today, I am a lot stronger, more serene and more mature for the work that you have delegated to me. Brazil, once again, this daughter of yours [referring to herself] won't walk away from the fight," Rousseff said.
Rousseff had called for a popular referendum on political reform after widespread protests in June 2013, but she dropped the issue in the face of stiff resistance from lawmakers.
She also said her re-election represented the country's hope and recognized the country's desire that she work harder to be a "better president."
"A re-election vote is a vote of hope, especially for improving the actions of those who have been governing. I know that is what the people say when they re-elect a leader. That is what I've heard from the voting booths. That is why I want to be a much better president than I have been up until now," she said.
In her victory speech, she also reiterated her commitment to fiscal discipline and controlling inflation.
The scene at the Brasilia hotel was exuberant as supporters chanted Rousseff's name, sang campaign songs and waved her party's red and black flags.
"After three months of hard work, we got our result in the polls. Dilma is president, with the force of the people behind her. Dilma!" a Rousseff supporter, Eduardo Gamzer, said during the celebration.
Similar scenes sprung up around the country with people in some cities taking to the streets and others shouting from the apartment windows in city's including Rio de Janeiro.
In Porto Alegre, Rousseff supporters took to the streets waving banners and flags as cars drove by honking their horns in celebration.
"Dilma represents me. A vote for Dilma is a vote for the people, a vote against machismo, against homophobia, against racism and the white elites aren't going to take this country!" a student identified only as Juliana said.
By re-electing Rousseff, it will remain on a middle ground between more socialist governments in Venezuela and Argentina, and the freer-trading, faster-growing countries on the Pacific coast that include Colombia and Chile.
Rousseff owed her victory to overwhelming support from the roughly 40 percent of Brazilians who live in households earning less than $700 a month.
They have benefited from the Workers' Party's rollout of a program that pays a small monthly stipend to one in four Brazilian families, as well as federal housing programs, government-sponsored vocational schools and an expansion of credit to the working class.
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