Overlooked opponent faces uphill battle in Brazil
Overlooked opponent faces uphill battle in Brazil
By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, Associated Press | October 6, 2014 | Updated: October 7, 2014 1:38am
SAO PAULO (AP) — Aecio Neves turned Brazil's politics on its head with his surprise showing in the first round of presidential voting but his toughest task lies ahead — defeating incumbent Dilma Rousseff and her juggernaut Workers' Party which has governed for 12 years.
The business-friendly candidate who only surged in the final week of the campaign came within 8 percentage points of Rousseff in Sunday's election and has momentum and a strong center-right party on his side.
The challenge for Neves, who was born into affluence and political power, will be to connect with the millions of poor Brazilians who have directly benefited from Rousseff's policies.
"He needs a more popular dialogue to build a bridge to those voters," said Mauricio Moura, a Brazilian pollster and professor of political strategy at George Washington University.
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Overlooked-opponent-faces-uphill-battle-in-Brazil-5805510.php