Voters in fifty cities, including 17 state capitals, headed back to the polls on Sunday in the second round of Brazil’s municipal elections, to decide on their prefeito (city mayor). The municipal elections have also served as a mid-term litmus test on the popularity of the parties looking toward the 2014 presidential race.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and new São Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad meet at the Planalto, Brasília, a day after his victory in the second round of municipal elections. Photo by Antônio Cruz/ABr.

The second round involved cities with populations over 200,000 where no candidate had reached the fifty-percent threshold in the first round held on October 7th.

The win by Fernando Haddad (PT) as mayor of São Paulo against rival José Serra (PSDB) was perhaps the best news for the party.

However, the PT did not fare as well nationwide, losing control of much of the northeast, including Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza.

The PT is now leading in bigger cities while the PMDB is in smaller ones, and half of the elected candidates are from the three leading parties – the PT, PMDB and PSDB.

Also in the full article on The Rio Times (click here):

• Did the Mensalão scandal affects the number of votes the PT received?
• Who will be in the running for the 2014 presidential elections after Serra’s disappointing result in São Paulo?
• What will now happen to the political landscape in Brazil?