Mauro Victoria Soares discusses the contention of the Presidential elections in Brazil, which have never been so clearly divided along economic lines: Geraldo Alckmin garnering much of his support from the upper classes, and Lula da Silva from the lower strata of society. Initial polls had predicted an easy victory for Lula in the first round, but due to the sensationalizing of a scandal involving Worker’s Party members, Lula‘s popularity may have been hurt. It remains to be seen whether Lula‘s popular and successful economic redistribution programs will be enough to win him a second chance at the Presidency against a tough opposition.

Mauro Victoria Soares has a graduate degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Political Science, both from the University of Sao Paulo. He is a PhD candidate in Political Theory at the same university and is currently a visiting scholar at Columbia University, in New York.

AN UNEXPECTED BALLOTING OUTCOME ON OCTOBER 1ST CHANGED THE ELECTIONS IN BRAZIL, complicating the easy reelection forecasted for President Luis In