The BBC is reporting that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected after securing more than 51% of votes in the closest election race in many years. An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote. Her re-election for a second term extends the rule of her Workers Party (PT), which came to power in 2002 with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be “a much better president than I have been until now.”
The author writes:
“But the vote split Latin America’s biggest country almost evenly in two, along lines of social class and geography. Ms. Rousseff called on all Brazilians ‘to unite in favour of Brazil’s future’ and said she would seek political reform. ‘This president is open to dialogue. This is the top priority of my second mandate,’ she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia.”
Rousseff has faced protests over the World Cup and political corruption. In August, presidential contender Eduardo Campos died tragically in a plane crash. The charismatic and wildly popular politician was quite possibly the candidate most likely to unseat Rousseff. Rousseff declared three days of mourning after his passing.
Read more at BBC.
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