Who’s Who? The Major Candidates

DILMA ROUSSEFF (Worker’s Party)

Dilma Rousseff

Lula’s right-hand woman during the second half of his presidency, Dilma (as she is known) served as Minister of Energy and Mines before stepping in as Chief of Staff after a corruption scandal forced her predecessor, José Dirceu, to resign.

She is also a major proponent of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam and was closely involved with the project. While advocates say the dam is necessary to meet Brazil’s growing energy demands amid a rapidly expanding economy, opponents believe the environment and social costs outweigh the benefits – among other things, it would displace entire indigenous communities who have lived along the river’s banks for generations. Dilma – the erstwhile left-wing activist who was imprisoned for three years and tortured during the military dictatorship in the 1970s – is a trained economist and Lula’s choice to succeed him and continue his administration’s work. If elected, Dilma plans to stick to what has been working and is not expected to stray too far from Lula’s policies. She is currently leading in the polls, though she has never run for public office.

JOSÉ SERRA (Social Democratic Party)
Currently running a close second is Serra, an economist and career politician from São Paulo. He has served as Senator, Mayor, Governor, and he ran for President in 2002 (he lost to

José Serra

Lula). The only male candidate running for a position that has never been held by a woman, Serra can claim a largely successful tenure as Governor of São Paulo, the country’s wealthiest state. He also served as Minister of Health from 1998 to 2002 under President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. During this period, the country made significant advancements in both its AIDS combat program, now considered to be among the world’s best, and the expansion of Brazil’s generic medications industry, which made low-cost, high-quality medications available to millions of people. Economically, Serra is unlikely to stray too far from Lula’s policies, though his foreign policy would likely be more conservative. Additionally, he promises to toughen up on crime and plans to create a Public Safety Ministry.

MARINA SILVA (Green Party)

Marina Silva

Marina is arguably Brazil’s foremost environmentalist. Raised on a plantation and illiterate until the age of 15, Marina became the youngest Senator in the country’s history and served as Environment Minister under President Lula. Her tenure saw a drastic reduction in Amazon deforestation levels and earned her international recognition. She resigned from her post in August 2008, citing differences with the administration over their environmental policy. Many of these concerns stemmed from negotiations regarding the aforementioned Belo Monte dam, which Marina strongly opposes. Marina joined the Green Party shortly thereafter and was nominated to run as its presidential candidate, advocating a platform of sustainable growth. Though she is currently polling at 10% and is not expected to win the election, she could become a king-maker should she throw her weight behind one of the two remaining candidates in the event of a run-off election.