Dilma Rousseff Seeks Re-election in Brazil

 Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has announced officially that she will seek her re-election on October with the governing Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) party.

The elections, will be heavily influenced by the FIFA World Cup, which has sparked protests all over the country and has damaged significantly Rousseff's popularity.

The main opposition candidate is Aecio Neves, president of the Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB), the social-democrats' party.

Neves has benefited from the protest movement which has questioned the government's investment in the World Cup.

Several polls have shown the rise in Neves popularity as the protests intensified: on February, Rousseff would win the elections with 54% against a 27% vote for Neves, but by May, those numbers had improved favorably for the PSDB candidate who would turn out second with 36%, against a 47% vote for the current president.

The PT has announced it's alliance with the Partido do Movimento Democratico Brasileiro (PMDB), a center party which was a key in the struggle against the military dictatorship which lasted until 1985.

As the World Cup takes place, the Brazilian government recently approved a National Policy for Social Movements' Participation through a presidential decree, a measure that seeks to actively engage social organizations in the government through councils and other institutional mechanisms.

The decree has received unanimous support from social movements and organizations, support which will be very important leading to the elections.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have tried to discredit the decree, alleging that the it intends to limit participation only to organizations and movements allied with the PT party.