Brazil's Leftist Lula Sweeps to Victory in Presidential Poll

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 28, 2002

Brazil's Leftist Lula Sweeps to Victory in Presidential Poll

Brazil's leftist Luiz Inacio Lulada Silva scored a landslide victory in the country's presidential runoff vote on Sunday, handing himself a magnificent 57th birthday gift.

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Brazil's leftist Luiz Inacio Lulada Silva scored a landslide victory in the country's presidential runoff vote on Sunday, handing himself a magnificent 57th birthday gift.

The ruling party's candidate Jose Serra conceded defeat.

The former trade union leader, popularly known as Lula, garnered 63 percent of the vote in the run-off presidential election, according to the Ibope poll that also showed Serra of the Social Democracy Party took 37 percent.

Lula, former metalworker and veteran leftist, had dominated the Oct. 6 first round, but fell just short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.

An aide to Serra told reporters the former health minister had called Lula, 57, to wish him well.

"I'm calling you (Lula) to recognize your victory and to wish you good luck in the presidency for the good of the country," the aide quoted Serra as saying.

With 88 percent of the ballots counted, Lula had 61 percent of the vote, while Serra trailed with 39 percent, according to official figures.

Final official results are not expected until late Monday, as the poll just ended at 19:00 (22:00 GMT).

Lula, who failed to win the presidency in three previous campaigns, will be sworn in on Jan. 1, 2003.

His victory will mark a historic shift for Brazil, which has never before elected a leftist president.

The last leftist president in the country was Joao Goulart, a vice president who assumed power in 1962 when the centrist president resigned. He served two years and was deposed by a military coup.

Lula is facing the hard task of pulling Brazil, Latin America's largest economy and the world's ninth largest economy, from the edge of recession, curbing joblessness and lifting nearly 50 million Brazilians out of poverty.

He has criticized current President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's unbridled free-market policies but is believed to be considering several fiscal conservatives as members of his economic team.

Cardoso, who privatized many of Brazil's giant monopolies and lowered import taxes, but failed to help the poor, is barred from seeking a third term as he has ruled Brazil for two four-year terms.

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