Rousseff scores narrow victory in Brazil
Brazil’s incumbent president Dilma Rousseff has triumphed in the country’s closest election in a generation, winning by about 3 percentage points in a vote that has split the nation between rich and poor. She now faces the daunting task of reuniting a country divided by the most bitter campaign in recent memory, reviving a sluggish economy and pacifying hostile markets. By Sunday night the president from the centre-left Workers’ party, the PT, had 51.64 per cent of the valid votes compared with 48.36 per cent for her rival Aécio Neves of the pro-business PSDB, with 99.98 per cent counted. An elated Ms Rousseff said in her victory speech in front of cheering supporters: "I don’t think, in my heart, that these elections have divided our country. I believe that it provoked conflicting feelings but in pursuit of a common goal, to change our country." "I wish her success," said Mr Neves in his speech to concede defeat, the fourth loss in a row of the PSDB to the PT. "Muito obrigada! [Many thanks! ]" Ms Rousseff tweeted as soon as the result was known, alongside a hashtag "Dilma four more years" and a photo of her against a red background with hand aloft in a victory signal. Her government’s success in reducing unemployment in spite of the international financial crisis while expanding social welfare benefits won over voters fearful that a Neves victory might jeopardise these hard-won improvements. Brazil’s new middle class, a group of more than 30m people who emerged from poverty in the 2000s, were seen as critical in the election. Eager for change, as shown with mass protests against the 2014 World Cup, they appeared to give the president another chance to deliver on their demands for better public services, particularly in the areas of transport, education and health. She was particularly strong in the poor north and north east but also won the majority in Minas Gerais, one of the most important south-eastern states and the home base of Mr Neves. "It’s not that I’m against the rich but they have enough money now. Let them live in their world of fantasy and happiness and let’s help the poor who really need our help," says Dom Pedro, a 66-year-old insurance broker voting in central São Paulo. "Capitalism is ruining the world," he said, pointing to the global financial crisis and examples such as high unemployment in Spain. But winning the election might be the easy part for a leader who campaigned for a second term by painting the election as a vote of the poor and lower middle-class against the rich. During the bitter two-month fight, both sides engaged in name-calling, including each accusing the other of Nazism. The election was also overshadowed by a corruption case in state-owned oil company Petrobras in which a jailed former executive of the company and his underworld accomplice who were involved in the scheme have accused the PT of complicity. The case is likely to roll on through Ms Rousseff’s second term, with scores of politicians from her ruling coalition accused of involvement and Brazil’s Veja magazine at the weekend saying she had knowledge of the scheme. She has vehemently denied the charge. In Brazil’s industrial heartland of São Paulo, where Mr Neves easily won a majority, some voters were outraged by Ms Rousseff’s victory. "I don’t believe it, the people are stupid," shouted one resident from the window of his house in the neighbourhood of Pinheiros. But on São Paulo’s main Paulista Avenue on Sunday night, as soon as it was clear Ms Rousseff had won, thousands of PT supporters gathered in the rain, waving flags and letting off fireworks. "I’m so happy, I can’t believe it – it was so close," says Swami Stello, who works as a lawyer in the city. "The PT has its problems but when it comes to reducing inequality, they are the best party." More difficult still will be winning over sceptical markets amid concerns that her campaign has not prepared the public for tough changes that may be needed next year to reduce Brazil’s fiscal deficit and prevent a rise in public debt. "The campaign has made her burn a lot of bridges," said Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars. Attention will now turn to who will comprise her next cabinet, particularly the crucial position of finance minister. She has already signalled that her present finance minister, Guido Mantega, will not continue in her next term, raising speculation that she might appoint senior minister and economic co-ordinator of her campaign Aloizio Mercadante to the role among other names. Mr Mercadante on Saturday said she was already vetting candidates and said the president was prepared to make the "necessary adjustments" in 2015. "She has said it’s going to be more of the same but with improvements, but whether that is improvements for the markets is the big question," said David Fleischer, political analyst at the University of Brasília.