In Brazil Runoff, Third-Place Finisher Endorses Opposition Candidate
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Version 0 of 1. SÃO PAULO — Marina Silva, a popular environmentalist who finished third in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, endorsed the leading opposition candidate on Sunday in the runoff with President Dilma Rousseff. The endorsement came as Ms. Rousseff appeared to be in a tight race in the runoff against Aécio Neves, a business-minded former governor who has promised to open Brazil’s economy and bolster growth. Ms. Silva had for a time led Ms. Rousseff in voter surveys, and many were surprised to see her finish in third place in the voting last week. On Sunday, in endorsing Mr. Neves, Ms. Silva said, “I will vote for Aécio and support him,” adding, “I trust in the sincerity of the proposals of the candidate and his party.” Ms. Silva had been thrust into the Socialist Party’s nomination after its initial presidential candidate was killed in a plane crash in August, but her support waned after Ms. Rousseff began an aggressive campaign to discredit her skills. Mr. Neves, of the right-leaning Social Democracy Party, has said the fact that opposition candidates as a whole outpolled Ms. Rousseff in the first round indicates that Brazilians are eager for change after 12 years under her Workers’ Party. Whether Ms. Silva’s supporters will back Mr. Neves, however, is not certain. “I don’t think that an endorsement of Marina or of her party guarantees that her voters will follow,” said Francisco Fonseca, a political analyst with the Getúlio Vargas Foundation. “In Brazil, unlike other countries, party loyalty is not as strong; it’s not a personal, family or generational matter,” he said. “Here they vote more for people than for parties.” Ms. Rousseff has strong support from Brazil’s poor, many of whom have benefited from her party’s social programs. Nevertheless, her showing in the first round was the weakest for a Workers’ Party candidate in 16 years. |