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Brazilians Vote in Presidential Runoff

   VOA News 31 October 2010
   Dilma Rousseff, presidential candidate for the Workers Party, gestures
   after  voting  during  Brazil's  presidential election runoff in Porto
   Alegre, Brazil, 31Oct10

Photo: AP

   Dilma Rousseff, presidential candidate for the Workers Party, gestures
   after  voting  during  Brazil's  presidential election runoff in Porto
   Alegre, Brazil, 31Oct10

   Brazil  is  holding  a  runoff election to determine who will take the
   place of popular leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

   Voters  are  choosing  Sunday  between Mr. da Silva's protégé, Dilma
   Rousseff  of the Workers Party, and Jose Serra of the Brazilian Social
   Democratic Party.

   In  the first round of voting earlier this month, Rousseff took nearly
   47 percent of the vote. Serra followed with 33 percent.

   Public  opinion  polls  indicate Rousseff is poised to win, making her
   the country's first female president.

   President da Silva, who has led Brazil for eight years, is expected to
   have  a  strong  impact  on  the vote. Recent surveys show him with an
   approval  rating  of  more  than  80 percent. Supporters credit Mr. da
   Silva with building the nation's economy into a regional powerhouse.

   In  a  final  televised  debate Friday, Rousseff vowed to continue the
   current government's economic and social policies.

   Serra  argued  there is concern about Brazil's future economic growth,
   and he vowed to spend more federal money to create jobs.

   On  the  question of the environment, Rousseff said she would continue
   policies that cut the rate of deforestation in the Amazon.

   Serra  said  rural  residents who work in deforestation need other job
   options. He promised to create new work opportunities in the Amazon by
   expanding biodiversity and medical research.

   More  than  130  million  voters  are  eligible  to  vote  in Sunday's
   presidential runoff.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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