BRASILIA (Reuters) -
Brazil's most unpredictable presidential election in a generation is
heading toward a photo finish on Oct. 26 between leftist incumbent Dilma
Rousseff and pro-business challenger Aecio Neves, a new poll showed on
Wednesday.
In an
increasingly acrimonious campaign, the candidates traded accusations of
lies, corruption and nepotism in a bruising television debate on
Tuesday night that had no clear winner and saw more attacks than
discussion of policy issues.
Neves, the market favorite, has gained ground since his
stronger-than-expected showing in the first-round vote on Oct. 5, when
he bested environmentalist Marina Silva to place second behind Rousseff.
But Neves has struggled to build on that momentum and has
been running neck-and-neck with Rousseff in opinion polls for the last
week.
Neves has
45 percent of voter support against 43 percent for Rousseff, according
to a new survey by polling firm Datafolha, one percentage point less
than each candidate had in a previous poll six days ago.
The difference between the two is statistically
insignificant because it is within the poll's margin of error of plus or
minus 2 percentage points.
Excluding undecided voters, spoiled and blank survey
responses, Neves has 51 percent against 49 percent for Rousseff, the
same as last week.
"We are heading for a photo finish," said Andre Cesar, a political
analyst in Brasilia, who expects the remaining three debates before the
vote to get rougher. "If no candidate slips up badly in the next
debates, their numbers won't change much."
In the narrowest race since 1989, Brazilians have to
choose between re-electing a government that has lifted millions from
poverty or switching to more business-friendly policies advocated by
Neves to pull the country out recession.
Rousseff warned Brazilians in Tuesday's debate that
electing Neves would lead to unemployment and threaten the social
benefits gained under 12 years of rule by her Workers' Party.
Neves charged
that Rousseff campaign propaganda told lie after lie about him and
misinformed voters that he was planning to end cash transfer programs
and privatize state banks.
The senator and former state governor hammered Rousseff over
a multi-million dollar corruption scandal at state-run oil company
Petroleo Brasileiro SA , which prosecutors say was used to channel
bribes to the Workers' Party and its allies in the governing coalition.
Rousseff retorted by pointing to an airport that was built
adjacent to a farm owned by Neves' uncle when he was governor of Minas
Gerais state. She also accused him of nepotism for giving government
jobs to a sister, uncles and cousins.
Neves acknowledged big strides had been made in improving
the social lot of Brazil's people under Rousseff's mentor and
predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But he said Brazil had stopped
growing under Rousseff and inflation was out of control. He vowed to
restore credibility and investment flows.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; editing by Andrew Hay)
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