BRAZIL: President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva attends first campaign rally for his former Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff

Record ID: 738047

  • Title: BRAZIL: President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva attends first campaign rally for his former Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff
  • Date: 18th July 2010
  • Summary: PRESIDENT LULA WALKING ON STAGE AND HUGGING DILMA JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 2nd August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9EQP42POA9QMSAS6NXZ5FNOBE
  • Story Text: Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva turned from president into campaign cheerleader on Friday (July 16), firing up the first big election rally in support of his chosen presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff.
    The hugely popular Lula cannot run for a third straight term and is expected to play a high-profile role in the campaign for his relatively unknown former chief of staff.
    The former metalworker and veteran election campaigner appeared Friday evening at their first official campaign appearance together.
    "I tell you that my comrade Dilma who was chief of staff is ready to preside over the presidency of the republic of this country," he told the crowd.
    Organizers had expected tens of thousands at the rally, but a storm reduced the number to several thousand, many wearing red shirts in support of the ruling Workers' Party.
    Less than three months ahead of the October 3rd election in Latin America's largest economy, Rousseff has erased an earlier double-digit poll deficit and is running neck-and-neck with former Sao Paulo Governor Jose Serra in most recent surveys.
    Rousseff is apparently reaping the benefits of a booming economy and the huge popularity of Lula and is most analysts' favorite to win as her name recognition grows in the coming months.
    Rousseff, who lacks Lula's charisma, is expected to base her campaign heavily on promising continuity of Lula's mix of market-friendly policies and generous social programs.
    "We will honor the legacy of President Lula. President Lula gives us the greatest legacy. He hands me the destiny of the people who he so loved and he tells me to continue on that path because that's the path of transformation and change," Rousseff told the rally.
    Lula has come under criticism for breaking rules that prohibit public officials from using state resources to campaign.
    He has urged voters to elect Rousseff to secure the economic and social gains that Latin America's biggest country has made in recent years.
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