Millions of Brazilians are going to the polls Sunday to vote in the presidential race that is expected to result in a runoff campaign and election later this month.
Analysts say President Dilma Rousseff, who is seeking a second term, is seen as the top vote getter in Sunday's poll, but she is not likely to win the absolute majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Ms. Rousseff has two main rivals. Marina Silva is a hero of the global conservation movement and is a ruling party defector now with the Brazilian Socialist Party. Social Democrat Aecio Neves is a senator and former state governor.
Critics say President Rousseff can count on support from Brazil's working class, thanks to generous social welfare programs initiated during the two terms of her hugely popular predecessor and political godfather, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.