Dilma Rousseff won the re-election in Brazil, with 51.6% of the vote. She promises to reunite Brazil and introduce a much needed reform in Brazil. Her top priority is to open a dialogue in order to set things right. During her victory speech, Rousseff said she wanted to become a much better president than she was before. Also, she said that she is completely aware of the major changes demanded by society. Her campaign was fought against the center-right candidate Aecio Neves, who got 48.4% of the vote. Dilma Rousseff faced protests from Brazilian population last year. She was accused of corruption, major spending on the football World Cup and general poor services. Dilma Rousseff has been in power since 2010. She is very popular among the less wealthy population in Brazil because of her government welfare programs.
These latest elections managed to split Brazil, Latin America’s biggest country in two, almost evenly. Rousseff said during her election campaign that the most repeated word during the elections was “change” and the idea most often invoked was “reform”. She declared: “Sometimes in history, close outcomes trigger results more quickly than ample victories”. She also added: “It is my hope, or even better, my certainty that the clash of ideas can create room for consensus, and my first words are going to be a call for peace and unity. […] Instead of widening differences and creating a rift, I have the strong hope that we can use this energy to build bridges”. She thanked her supporters and her political mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva: “I thank from the bottom of my heart our number one militant, President Lula”. Rousseff’s Worker’s Party has been in power since 2002. Now their government will continue for another four years, starting January 1.
After the results came in, a group of Neves’ supporters chanted “Kick the PT (Worker’s Party) out!”, in Sao Paulo. Neves admitted defeat, but he did not forget to thank his 50 million Brazilian supporters who voted for him. He declared that the main priority is to unite Brazil “around an honorable program worthy of all Brazilians”. These elections have been the tightest so far. The majority of Brazilians voted for continuity, by electing Dilma Rousseff, supporting a party which reached economic growth and has offered generous welfare programs, which helped elevate millions of Brazilians from extreme poverty.