Haddad

Rousseff opens new São Paulo airport terminal

Anadolu Agency

GUARULHOS, SÃO PAULO – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff officially opened a long-awaited new international terminal at São Paulo’s main Guarulhos international airport on Tuesday, three weeks before the country hosts the World Cup.

Rousseff said the new glass and steel terminal represented a transformation in the Brazilian population, more and more of whom are now able to afford flying as a travel option after 46 million Brazilians moved up on the social ladder into the economic middle classes.

“The changes that we have made here are part of the work done to address the real transformation seen from when we saw 36 million people travelling by plane at the beginning of the decade, to 111 million today,” she said.

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São Paulo Win Strengthens Dilma’s PT

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, photo by Antônio Cruz/ABr.

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?