Viewed from the start by leading pollsters and analysts as the most difficult election to predict since the reinstatement of democracy in Brazil in the mid-1980s, next month’s presidential race will likely be resolved between two female contenders in a second round of voting scheduled for the last Sunday in October. Incumbent president Dilma Rousseff, of the Workers’ Party (PT), will face former senator and Minister of the Environment Marina Silva, a PT founding member who is running for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), of the late Eduardo Campos. Marina, as she is known, replaced Campos as head of the PSB’s presidential ticket after his tragic death in an airplane crash in August 13^th, a move that dramatically changed the electoral landscape.

The first black Brazilian to run for President and a world renowned environmentalist, this former senator from the state of Acre, in the Western Amazon, is progressing ahead of Rousseff in simulations for the second round of voting. On September 16^th, the Brazil Institute will host a discussion on the 2014 Brazilian elections outlook with leading journalists and experts on Brazilian politics.

Related article:

"Marina Silva's Rise, not Unforeseen, Changed the Outlook of Brazil's October Elections", Paulo Sotero - 9/02/2014

"A Game Changer in Brazil's 2014 Presidential Elections", Paulo Sotero, Huffington Post - 10/11/2013

Photos courtesy of Flicrk users Fernando Stankuns, Rede Brasil Atual, PSDB MG and BrasilemRede