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| Brazilians Head to the Polls as Campaigning on Both Sides Grows Noxious | Brazilians Head to the Polls as Campaigning on Both Sides Grows Noxious |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilians began casting ballots on Sunday in a presidential race between a leftist incumbent who is touting big gains in reducing poverty and a centrist challenger blaming the incumbent for corruption scandals and a sluggish economy. | RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilians began casting ballots on Sunday in a presidential race between a leftist incumbent who is touting big gains in reducing poverty and a centrist challenger blaming the incumbent for corruption scandals and a sluggish economy. |
| The tumultuous race remained tight until the eve of the vote, and President Dilma Rousseff, whose Workers’ Party has held power for 12 years, appeared to hold a lead over Aécio Neves, a senator for the Social Democrats. | The tumultuous race remained tight until the eve of the vote, and President Dilma Rousseff, whose Workers’ Party has held power for 12 years, appeared to hold a lead over Aécio Neves, a senator for the Social Democrats. |
| The influential Datafolha polling company showed Ms. Rousseff with 52 percent support, compared with 48 percent for Mr. Neves, according to a survey released on Saturday night. Still, the poll signaled a technical tie between the two candidates, since the survey, which interviewed 19,318 voters on Oct. 24 and 25, had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. | The influential Datafolha polling company showed Ms. Rousseff with 52 percent support, compared with 48 percent for Mr. Neves, according to a survey released on Saturday night. Still, the poll signaled a technical tie between the two candidates, since the survey, which interviewed 19,318 voters on Oct. 24 and 25, had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. |
| “I’m going with Dilma because she prioritizes social progress,” said Henrique Vaz, 22, a graphic designer in São Paulo. “Aécio might be better for the economy, but he is too beholden to business interests.” | “I’m going with Dilma because she prioritizes social progress,” said Henrique Vaz, 22, a graphic designer in São Paulo. “Aécio might be better for the economy, but he is too beholden to business interests.” |
| Electoral authorities were expected to declare the winner on Sunday night after a nationwide electronic system tallied the vote. | Electoral authorities were expected to declare the winner on Sunday night after a nationwide electronic system tallied the vote. |
| The struggle for each vote in the race has been marked by mounting political tension. In one barb epitomizing the acrimony between supporters of the respective candidates, the leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared that Mr. Neves’s campaign was attacking Ms. Rousseff and her supporters “like the Nazis did in World War II.” | The struggle for each vote in the race has been marked by mounting political tension. In one barb epitomizing the acrimony between supporters of the respective candidates, the leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared that Mr. Neves’s campaign was attacking Ms. Rousseff and her supporters “like the Nazis did in World War II.” |
| Mr. Neves, meanwhile, compared Ms. Rousseff’s campaign strategist to Hitler’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. As the vote approached, campaigning on both sides grew more noxious, with personal insults, heated accusations of corruption and even a clash between campaigners on the streets of São Paulo. | Mr. Neves, meanwhile, compared Ms. Rousseff’s campaign strategist to Hitler’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. As the vote approached, campaigning on both sides grew more noxious, with personal insults, heated accusations of corruption and even a clash between campaigners on the streets of São Paulo. |
| The rising polarization in Brazil, which has mostly avoided the poisonous political wrangling of neighbors like Venezuela and Argentina, has stunned many voters and contributed to what is arguably Brazil’s most contentious election since the end of authoritarian military rule in the 1980s. | |
| “The entire race from start to finish has been one disgrace after another, leaving me revolted,” said Eliete Carvalho, 34, a physical therapist in São Paulo. “I never saw a race like this one. The quality of it was just horrible.” | “The entire race from start to finish has been one disgrace after another, leaving me revolted,” said Eliete Carvalho, 34, a physical therapist in São Paulo. “I never saw a race like this one. The quality of it was just horrible.” |
| In the closing days of the race, Ms. Rousseff appeared to pull ahead, suggesting that her government’s emphasis on expanding social welfare programs and keeping unemployment low, even in a sluggish economy, had bolstered her support. | In the closing days of the race, Ms. Rousseff appeared to pull ahead, suggesting that her government’s emphasis on expanding social welfare programs and keeping unemployment low, even in a sluggish economy, had bolstered her support. |
| “Life has improved in the community where I live, so I’m voting for Dilma,” said Michele Albuquerque, 34, a manicurist who lives in Rocinha, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas, or slums. She mentioned rising incomes and better access to health care in recent years. “It’s a clear choice for me: The poor population now has more rights.” | “Life has improved in the community where I live, so I’m voting for Dilma,” said Michele Albuquerque, 34, a manicurist who lives in Rocinha, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas, or slums. She mentioned rising incomes and better access to health care in recent years. “It’s a clear choice for me: The poor population now has more rights.” |
| Mr. Neves is contending that he can pull off an upset, pointing to one poll positioning him ahead of the incumbent. In the last debate of the race on Friday night, he denounced Ms. Rousseff over a news report tying her and Mr. da Silva, the former president and a fellow member of the Workers’ Party, to a vast bribery scheme at Petrobras, the national oil company. | |
| Ms. Rousseff reacted angrily, citing corruption scandals in Mr. Neves’s own party and denying any connection to the bribery scheme. She also questioned the objectivity of Veja, the influential magazine that published the report on Thursday. Some supporters in São Paulo vandalized the headquarters of Abril, Veja’s corporate parent, on Friday night. | Ms. Rousseff reacted angrily, citing corruption scandals in Mr. Neves’s own party and denying any connection to the bribery scheme. She also questioned the objectivity of Veja, the influential magazine that published the report on Thursday. Some supporters in São Paulo vandalized the headquarters of Abril, Veja’s corporate parent, on Friday night. |
| For weeks the race has had unexpected twists. In August, a plane carrying a third candidate crashed, thrusting his running mate, Marina Silva, a leader of Brazil’s environmental movement, into the running. She surged into the lead, only to be defeated in the first round of voting after failing to find her footing amid a barrage of attack ads. | For weeks the race has had unexpected twists. In August, a plane carrying a third candidate crashed, thrusting his running mate, Marina Silva, a leader of Brazil’s environmental movement, into the running. She surged into the lead, only to be defeated in the first round of voting after failing to find her footing amid a barrage of attack ads. |
| As the economy entered a recession this year, an opening seemed possible for Mr. Neves, the scion of a political family from Minas Gerais, Brazil’s second-most-populous state, who has vowed to adopt market-friendly policies like looser controls on fuel prices and independence for the central bank. | As the economy entered a recession this year, an opening seemed possible for Mr. Neves, the scion of a political family from Minas Gerais, Brazil’s second-most-populous state, who has vowed to adopt market-friendly policies like looser controls on fuel prices and independence for the central bank. |
| Even as Mr. Neves and Ms. Rousseff have sought to stress their differences by sparring about corruption and campaign tactics, they retain similar positions on numerous issues. | Even as Mr. Neves and Ms. Rousseff have sought to stress their differences by sparring about corruption and campaign tactics, they retain similar positions on numerous issues. |
| Both express support for preserving subsidy payments for the poor, state control of giant companies like Petrobras and affirmative-action programs for Brazilians of African descent. | Both express support for preserving subsidy payments for the poor, state control of giant companies like Petrobras and affirmative-action programs for Brazilians of African descent. |
| But their differences on economic policy have accentuated certain rifts. Mr. Neves has called on Brazilians to resist Ms. Rousseff’s efforts to assert greater state control over the economy, a plea that resonates among many voters, especially in the middle and upper classes. | But their differences on economic policy have accentuated certain rifts. Mr. Neves has called on Brazilians to resist Ms. Rousseff’s efforts to assert greater state control over the economy, a plea that resonates among many voters, especially in the middle and upper classes. |
| “Aécio will lure more foreign companies to Brazil, and that would help the country,” said Luís Otávio Melo, 55, an economist in Rio. “There’s always going to be corruption in any government, but at least with a new administration the thieves will be different.” | “Aécio will lure more foreign companies to Brazil, and that would help the country,” said Luís Otávio Melo, 55, an economist in Rio. “There’s always going to be corruption in any government, but at least with a new administration the thieves will be different.” |
| The sense of polarization has grown especially acute in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest and wealthiest state, where support for Mr. Neves is strong, and in the country’s poorer regions, like the northeast, where many people rely on government subsidies and Ms. Rousseff enjoys substantial backing. | The sense of polarization has grown especially acute in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest and wealthiest state, where support for Mr. Neves is strong, and in the country’s poorer regions, like the northeast, where many people rely on government subsidies and Ms. Rousseff enjoys substantial backing. |
| Whoever wins on Sunday will face the challenge of governing in a political system in which presidents must forge alliances with an array of parties, including some with sharply different ideologies. Brazil’s rising political tension is not expected to make this process any easier. | Whoever wins on Sunday will face the challenge of governing in a political system in which presidents must forge alliances with an array of parties, including some with sharply different ideologies. Brazil’s rising political tension is not expected to make this process any easier. |
| “The negative aspect of the presidential race sets the stage for the fractious political scene which will emerge on Monday,” said Fernando Rodrigues, a columnist for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. “The next president will have enormous difficulties in building some kind of consensus.” | “The negative aspect of the presidential race sets the stage for the fractious political scene which will emerge on Monday,” said Fernando Rodrigues, a columnist for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. “The next president will have enormous difficulties in building some kind of consensus.” |