Brazil: Dilma Leads Polls Ahead of Congressional Election

18 August 2018 (teleSUR)* – If Brazil’s general elections were held today, former President Dilma Rousseff, now a senatorial candidate in the state of Minas Gerais, would win the race with 26.8 percent of the vote.

The prediction comes after a poll published by DataTempo/CP2  between August 8 and 11.

Rousseff’s nearest rival, journalist Carlos Viana of the Humanist Party of Solidarity, or PHS, is polling in second place with 11.2 percent of the vote.

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A total of 15 candidates are currently running for the two senatorial seats up for grabs in Minas Gerais state, including Vanessa Portugal of the Unified Workers’ Socialist Party (PSTU) with 8.5 per cent of the votes; Dinis Pinheiro (SD) with 5 per cent; Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM) with 4.8 per cent; Rodrigo Paiva (Novo) with 4.6 per cent; Jaime Martins (PROS) with 4.2 per cent; and Kaka Menezes (Rede) and Tulio Lopes (PCB) sharing 2.5 per cent.

The DataTempo/CP2 polling survey has a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.

Rousseff was impeached, in what many legal experts consider to be a “parliamentary coup,” in 2016. She often reminds followers of the misogynistic fervor that accompanied her removal from office.

“Dilma is a harsh woman; men are firm; Dilma is emotionally unstable, men are sensible,” she tweeted.

“I was (considered) ‘obsessive-compulsive with work,’ men are dynamic and hard-workers. The misogyny game is well employed by those who use it,” she added.

The former head of state also pointed out that some advisors, fearing that she would be disrespected and personally afflicted by her accusers, insisted that she not attend the Senate debate and vote that would consecrate her impeachment last year.

“I made a huge effort not to allow it to diminish, paralyze or torment me,” she wrote, adding that an internal private campaign played a significant role in her removal from office.