Brazil: Heloí­sa Helena Becomes Serious Contender for Presidency

The big news from the latest DataFolha poll on Brazil’s October presidential election is not that President Lula’s advantage in the race fell 1%, not even that a second round now seems likely.

The big news it that a firebrand politician from the Left, a woman who was expelled from the PT (Workers Party), the President’s party, for speaking her mind, has almost doubled the number of voters willing to put her in office.

Senator Heloí­sa Helena, who in DataFolha’s May poll of voting intention, had been chosen by 6% of the voters, has now grown to 10%. This before the woman, who is called a "warrior" by friends and detractors alike, has had a chance to start exposing her ideas on TV. The so-called free television airtime will not start until August 15.

Despite being known for her sharp tongue, Helena who runs for the PSOL, the party she created after being banned from the PT, seems intent on taking the high road on this campaign.

Talking about Lula, she said recently, "I don’t accept the preconceived and sicknening notion that Lula is not prepared. This is not the case. He is competent. The problem is he changed sides, he betrayed."

DataFolha shows President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva still leading the race in a first round with 44% of the votes, followed by former São Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin with 28%. Even when only the valid votes are taken into consideration this is not enough for Lula to secure victory.

In May, the same poll, which interviewed 6,264 people in 272 municipalities, showed President Lula winning 45% of the votes against 22% for his main rival. In June, Alckmin had grown to 29% while Lula had stayed stable with 46% of the votes. The polls have a 2% margin of error.

In a simulated second round with Lula and Alckmin, the president would come ahead with 51% of the votes, while the former governor would win 40% of the votes. For Lula this represents a 1% fall when compared to DataFolha’s June results.

The other candidates are not registering more than 1% of the voters preference. Former Education Minister and Senator Cristovam Buarque from the PDT is getting a mere 1% of the votes, the same as José Maria Eymael from the PSDC.

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Is World’s 14th in GDP and 86th in Per Capita Income

On the latest World Bank annual list of the world’s economies, Brazil moved up ...

How Much Will Brazil Grow in 2012? 2.5%, Says Central Bank, 1.81%, Say Other Banks

When compared to May, Brazil’s GDP rose 0.75% in June. This is growth as ...

New Tests Support Estimates of Up to 8 Billion Barrels of New Light Oil in Brazil

Petrobras, the Brazilian government controlled oil and gas multinational, said its seventh well in ...

Imports Rise and Exports Fall in Brazil

Brazil’s trade surplus (exports minus imports) amounted to US$ 985 million last week, 26.1% ...

King Pelí© Invites You to a Brazil-Flavored Mediterranean Cruise

The flagship of the Costa fleet will sail the first cruise dedicated to the ...

Brazil Tells Bolivia It Will Not Accept Any Gas Price Increase

The president of Petrobras, José Sérgio Gabrielli, says that Brazil will respect Bolivia’s decision ...

Rio Still Fears More Casualties and Mudslides, After Over 70 Deaths

Brazilian Colonel José Paulo Miranda, an officer in the Rio de Janeiro state Fire ...

Pope’s Interest in Zero Hunger Warms Up Brazilian Government’s Heart

Brazil’s Minister of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation, Patrus Ananias, has been in Italy ...

In Brazil the Arabs Are In and All Seem to Be Cashing In

The growth of exports from Brazil to the Arab countries may exceed 20% this ...

Higher Inflation and Lower GDP Make Investors Cautious in Brazil

Latin American stocks are mixed to higher at midday, with Mexican shares climbing on ...

WordPress database error: [Table './brazzil3_live/wp_wfHits' is marked as crashed and last (automatic?) repair failed]
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `wp_wfHits`