Brazilian Presidential Frontrunner Loses First Round Vote

Brazilian Presidential Frontrunner Loses First Round Vote – Abortion a Key Issue

By Julio Severo and Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

BRASÍLIA, Brazil, October 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews) — The abortion issue may be the principle reason that Brazilian frontrunner Dilma Rousseff failed to win a majority in Sunday's presidential elections, according to the Brazllian press.

Polls in the weeks leading up to the election had consistently given Rousseff, who represents the ruling Labor Party, a victory of 59-51%. However, Rousseff managed to win only 47% of the vote after her lead dropped among Evangelical voters, following the distribution of several YouTube videos linking Rousseff and the Brazilian Labor Party with the legalization of abortion.

The Estadão newspaper reports that "members of the campaign of [Labor Party candidate] Dilma Rouseff recognize that they have not been able to give an efficient response to religious issues, like the legalization of abortion. For them, that was the principle reason that made Dilma's votes, especially among the lowest classes, migrate to the candidacy of [opponent] Marina Silva."

"During the final phase of the campaign, Dilma began to lose votes against Evangelical and Catholic voters because she would be favorable to the proposed legalization of abortion in the country," the newspaper adds.

The Folho de Sao Paulo newspaper has likewise noticed the drop, stating that "Dilma Rousseff lost votes particularly among Evangelical voters during the month of September and, in the same period, her rejection in that part of the electorate rose to more than 50%."

The surprise first-round upset of Rousseff follows a massive campaign led by Evangelical ministers, Catholic bishops, and pro-life bloggers who have worked diligently to inform like-minded voters of Rousseff's pro-abortion record.

As LifeSiteNews reported previously, one Evangelical minister was threatened with legal action by Labor Party representatives last month following his sermon encouraging his flock not to vote for Labor Party candidates because of the party's pro-abortion, homosexualist political agenda. His sermon was converted to a YouTube video and received millions of views.

Following her precipitous drop in the polls, Rousseff gave a press conference in late September claiming that she was "personally against abortion," which she called "violence" against women. However, her explanation seemed to have little effect on the outcome of Sunday's vote.

Dilma Rousseff, a former Marxist guerrilla who spent three years in prison for her activities and was once implicated in the murder of an American military attaché stationed in Brazil, was handpicked by Luis Lula da Silva, Brazil's ultra-popular president, to succeed him. In the runoff election she will face off against José Serra of the Social Democratic party, who gained 32% of votes in the first round. However, the Brazilian Labor Party has already won a majority of seats in the national Congress in the first round of voting, ensuring that the hegemony of the party will continue, at least in the legislative branch of government.