Guns, God and fake news dominate Brazil’s presidential race
Brazil’s presidential race is likely to be dominated by gun-related fears. But so will be all of the other election issues on Sunday, when the top-seeded Workers Party (PT, which backed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in last year’s victory) faces off against the right-wing opposition’s candidate, former TV presenter Marina Silva.
Sunday’s election pits the PT against the Workers’ Party, of which Silva is the chief strategist and the only female candidate. Silva’s candidacy has been backed by the country’s elite, but has garnered less traction in the more poor, rural regions of the country.
The battle between the Workers Party and Silva has been likened to that between the American Democrats and the Republicans in American politics in the 1800s.
The stakes are high for Brazil, with a growing middle class that has prospered under the PT’s policies and a future in the country’s vast unexploited Amazon region.
Brazil has the world’s fourth largest economy and one of the world’s most promising political futures. The 2016 presidential vote, which will serve as an exit poll, is the 20th since Brazil’s independence from Portugal in 1808, and is likely to play out as a referendum on the country’s democratic practices.
Silva’s entry into the race has come at a time when she is a strong contender for the top job. Her candidacy has been backed by most of Brazil’s top political players, and has attracted much media attention.
Brazilian analysts say Silva’s candidacy has a shot at defeating the PT and making history in the 2016 presidential vote, where the PT has dominated for 40 years.
Silva has said she would make an “intact” presidency, one that would keep Brazil a country where the poor and the rich can live with dignity.
Brazilian conservative and conservative-leaning
