Dilma Rousseff Re-Elected Brazilian President

10/26/2014 - 22h07

Dilma Rousseff is re-elected following the countries' most competitive presidential campaign since 1989. Rousseff won a narrow victory in Minas (52.4% of the votes) and lost in São Paulo: she had 35%, and Aécio Neves (PSDB) 64%.

It is the third time Brazilians have re-elected a President. This Sunday (26), the Worker's Party (PT) candidate defeated Aécio Neves (PSDB) in one of the most closely-fought disputes the country has ever seen.

In the first round, Rousseff had 43.268 million votes or 41.6% of the total, while 34.897 or 33.5% voted in Neves. In the beginning of the runoff, Rousseff was second, according to polls. Tables turned on Monday (20) when polls showed the President ahead of Neves.

According to a Datafolha survey done last Saturday (25), Rousseff had 52% of the vote intentions and Neves 48%. For most of the runoff, the two remained close in the margin of error of two percentage points.

Dilma Rousseff has 44% approval rating, according to Datafolha. It is twice her rejection rating: 19% consider her administration bad or very bad, while 36% think it is average.

When former President Luiz Inácio Lula (PT) government ended in 2006, it was considered better than hers. However, it is one step ahead of Fernando Henrique Cardoso's (PSDB) in 1998, when he was re-elected.

Regarding her rejection rate, Rousseff also sits in the middle of the two former Presidents. Lula's rejection rating at the end of his first term was 14%. Fernando Henrique Cardoso's was 25%.

At the end of his first term in 2010, Lula had the best approval rating in history and managed to elect a successor. In 2010, 83% of the voters considered his administration good or great.

84% of Brazilians believed the country was better after his government. In that year, the Worker's Party rejection rate was down to 4% of the voters and 13% judged it average.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC) experienced the opposite. Even though 35% declared Brazil was better in 2002 than eight years earlier, he ended his two-term Presidency with the approval of just 26%, lower than his first term.

His rejection rating was around 36% and he could not elect a successor. On the other hand, FHC performed better than former Presidents José Sarney (1985-1990) and Fernando Collor de Mello (1990-1992), who left the Presidency after an impeachment and only 9% of approval.

Former President Itamar Franco also ended his administration (1992-1994) with the approval of 41% of the voters, higher than FHC, who was his Finance Minister during the implementation of the Real plan and was the next President elected.

Born in Minas Gerais, Itamar Franco took over the office after Collor was impeached.

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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	Avener Prado/Folhapress
	Dilma Rousseff votes at a polling station in Porto Alegre