SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), the country’s biggest opposition group, would formally support environmentalist Marina Silva in a runoff vote for the presidency if its own candidate fails to qualify, a party source told Reuters.
Such an alliance would reduce President Dilma Rousseff’s chances of winning a second term by bringing together large, disparate groups of voters who are clamoring for change after more than a decade of Workers’ Party rule.
The election is being closely watched by investors who are also hoping for a change in government after almost four years of stagnant growth and state intervention in the economy under Rousseff’s left-leaning administration.
“Brazil needs a change, a renewal. It cannot tolerate four more years” under Rousseff, the well-placed PSDB source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Silva was set to formally join the presidential race on Wednesday, accepting the nomination of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) following the death of former state governor and party chief Eduardo Campos in a plane crash.
The accident threw the Oct. 5 election into disarray, causing some voters to switch candidates and also threatening to upset the carefully negotiated web of political alliances underpinning the campaign.
A recent poll put Rousseff comfortably in first place, with Silva and the PSDB’s candidate, Senator Aecio Neves, running neck-and-neck for second place.
But Rousseff seems unlikely to win more than half of the votes so she would face the second-place finisher in a runoff on Oct. 26.
