Weekly Report - 28 October 2010 (WR-10-43)

The government's presidential candidate, Dilma Rousseff, holds an 11-percentage point lead over her rival José Serra heading into the second round run-off on 31 October. A survey by DataFolha, the most accurate pollster in the first round, released five days before the elections, shows she has consolidated her lead over Serra halting, and reversing, the momentum he appeared to have picked up. Eight percent of voters are still undecided so there is still a slim chance Serra could upset the odds. He attacked Rousseff for corruption in the penultimate TV debate on 25 October and will be hoping that this, along with recurring allegations implicating Rousseff with smearing the opposition, could influence the outcome.