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The race for Brazil’s October presidential election has tightened, according to a poll released yesterday that also showed high disapproval for President Dilma Rousseff and widespread dissatisfaction with the stagnant economy. |
Rousseff had 35% of votes, compared to 24% for Senator Aecio Neves and 11% for former governor Eduardo Campos, according to the survey by Sensus polling firm.
Undecided voters and those who said they would spoil their ballots accounted for the remaining responses.
The Sensus result indicated a tighter race than a separate poll released earlier this week, which showed Rousseff leading Neves by 15 percentage points.
Brazil’s stock market advanced 2.6% on Friday as investors anticipated the Sensus poll would show the race tightening.
Many investors are weary of Rousseff’s left-leaning policies, and believe either of her more centrist opponents would govern in a more business-friendly way.
About 49% of respondents said they disapproved of Rousseff’s performance, compared to 40% who approved.
Also, 66% of voters said their purchasing power had declined compared to a year ago, reflecting fallout from rising inflation and an economy that has averaged just 2% growth since Rousseff took office in 2011.
Most political analysts still expect Rousseff to win the October 5 vote, thanks to continued strong support from Brazil’s poor, who have benefited from social welfare programmes.
The Sensus poll was conducted nationwide between April 22 and 25, with 2,000 respondents and a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
Meanwhile, Rousseff faces a tough re-election campaign after being chosen as the left-wing Worker’s Party’s candidate for the October presidential election.
Rousseff’s re-election bid was formalized at a raucous party event late Friday and fully endorsed by party stalwart and popular ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2011).
A survey by pollsters CNT this week shows that 37% of voters would vote for her in October, outperforming her rivals but down from 44% in February.
Without winning 50% of the vote Rousseff would face a run-off vote with her nearest rival.
Her main rivals are Neves, who has 22% support, and socialist Campos, with 12% support.
An economist and former guerrilla fighter who was jailed and tortured in the 1970s, Rousseff took office in January 2011 as Brazil’s first female president.
Lula, who remains a heavyweight in Brazilian politics, left office with an 80% approval rating.
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