Brazilians
were voting on Sunday in the most unpredictable presidential election
in decades and the first since the end of an economic boom underpinning
the leftist Workers' Party's 12-year rule.
As President Dilma
Rousseff seeks a second term, voters are weighing whether the
socioeconomic gains of the last decade are enough to reject the
candidacies of a popular environmentalist and a pro-business social
democrat, who both promise to jump-start the economy after four years of
lackluster growth.
Polls show Rousseff as the front runner in a race that is likely to go to a runoff on Oct. 26.
"It really is too close
to call," said Rafael Cortez, a political analyst with Tendencias, a
consultancy in Sao Paulo. "Volatility and frustration favor opposition
candidates, but you don't really have a crisis to topple the government,
either."
Lines formed early Sunday as citizens prepared to cast ballots when voting started at 8 a.m. local time.
Rousseff's main rivals
are Marina Silva, a hero of the global conservation movement with the
Brazilian Socialist Party, and Aecio Neves, a senator and former state
governor from the centrist party that laid the groundwork for Brazil's
economic boom last decade.
Even after mass protests
a year ago, driven by the economic malaise and anger over corruption
and poor public services, Rousseff remains the favorite, helped by a
barrage of negative campaigning that eroded an early lead by Silva.
More than 140 million
people are registered to vote in Brazil, where everyone between the ages
of 18 and 70 is required to cast a ballot. Voting is computerized,
meaning results are expected just a few hours after polls close in
western states on Sunday afternoon.
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