Feldman: Dilma avoided Marina because she prefers Aécio in the second round.
"It was a polarization that was preserved, just like the government in recent years," said Walter Feldman, coordinator of Marina Silva's (PSB) campaign, regarding the debate on Globo; "In recent elections, the PSDB has lost to the PT; it's a PT logic that Aécio in the second round would be better for Dilma," he opined.
(Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff, who is seeking re-election for the PT, avoided direct confrontations with Marina Silva (PSB) in the last debate before Sunday's elections, in a clear indication that she prefers a runoff against Aécio Neves (PSDB) in the second round, according to the coordinator of Marina's campaign, Walter Feldman.
During the TV Globo debate, Marina and Dilma were face-to-face mainly when the questions were asked by the PSB candidate. The PT candidate opted to ask questions to the PSDB candidate, Aécio Neves.
"It was a polarization that was preserved, just like the government in recent years," said Feldman. "In the last elections, the PSDB has lost to the PT; it's a PT logic that Aécio in the second round would be better for Dilma."
On Thursday, two opinion polls were released with slightly different indications. Dilma Rousseff (PT) appears with 40 percent and Marina with 24 percent of voting intentions in the Ibope and Datafolha polls.
But Aécio has 21 percent in the Datafolha poll and 19 percent in the Ibope poll. Since the margin of error for both polls is 2 percentage points, according to Datafolha, the PSDB candidate and the PSB candidate are in a statistical tie.
"(Dilma) only chose Aécio and we know that the PT thinks it's easier to beat the PSDB in the second round," said Feldman.
The preference for Aécio became clear when the topic of climate change was drawn, and Dilma Rousseff opted for the PSDB candidate over Marina Silva, who was Minister of the Environment in Lula's government.
At some point, Dilma's choice of opponent to question may have been dictated by the topic drawn. Faced with the challenge of questioning an opponent about climate change, the president may have preferred to avoid confronting an expert.
"The question was for Marina, but Dilma would never ask someone who knows as much as Marina and who develops and unfolds ideas so well," he stated.
Marina's campaign coordinator expressed optimism about the former senator's presence in the second round. Aécio, in turn, also showed confidence that he will be in the second round in the race against Dilma.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier)