Brazilian Elections 2014

1. BrazilianElections 2014 Brazilianelections - 2014

2. - 7th presidential election since redemocratization - 141 million will choose the president, the governors of 27 states and members of local and national parliaments - The 1988 Constitution enlarged the electorate through the enfranchisement of the illiterate

4. The universal suffrage combined with mandatory vote set a social agenda and contributed to raise the tax burden from 25% to 36% of the GDP • It is for the sake of democracy, and not for populism, that parties have been disputing the pace and extension of the social agenda • The PT and the PSDB have been dominating national disputes as the only parties to have presented candidates in all elections since 1989

5. Indicadores Brasil – jan/2014

7. -The 'Mensalão'  and the 2008 financial collapse changed the Lula Administration in its second term as he strengthened his ties with social movements and increased official credit to enterprises -The GDP boomed and helped to elect president Dilma Rousseff, the first woman ever to occupy the seat

10. - President Dilma reduced interest rates to the lowest level in history - Such a step did not ensure the support either of the business community or of the population at large, perhaps because of the inflationary threat

12. -The satisfaction of basic demands brought new demands to the floor -The rather expensive stadiums built for the soccer world cup mobilized protesters, who claimed for public health, education and transport which meet ‘FIFA standards’

13. Foto: fulano de tal/Valor

14. -Protests may resume during the electoral campaign as the world cup will take place three months before elections, but the decisive factor may still be the confrontation between the PT’s and the PSDB’s legacies -Inflation control remains the most important brand of the PSDB while job creation (with expansion of formal posts) and higher average income are the main strengths of the PT

19. - The alliance of former minister of the environment, Marina Silva, the most successful experience of a third force so far, made the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos, a viable candidate

22. - Heir to an ex-governor exiled during dictatorship, Campos accomplished a market-friendly performance. The 20 years of polarization remains his main obstacle - Campos comes from the Northeast, the region in which Dilma performs best. He may face difficulties in the farming states, which reject the sustainability platform represented by Marina

25. - Aécio hasthepreferenceofthe business community, maybebecauseheformed a teamofeconomistsandintelectualswhohadworked for the Cardoso Administration - As thefirst candidate whodoesn’t come from São Paulo, Aécio mayfail to command a clearsupportofhisparty in thatstate - He will face thefavoritismofanincumbentpresidentwiththelowestlevelofunemployment in thelast 20 years

27. President Dilma will also have the support of the majority of mayors, who are very dependent on social policies and are the most active campaigners in presidential elections • - The alliance with the PMDB will give her roughly half the TV electoral propaganda time.

28. - Since the arrival of the PT in power this is the dispute in which the business community is mostly unnerved, which may lead the debate to focus on economic issues - None of the candidates has been clear about how to cut budgetary expenditures, as financial markets demand, and meet social demands which already take 60% of public expending

29. - The winner will be the one who seems credible enough to make the investments the country needs while preserving the gains of the majority