Brazil candidates engage in verbal sparring in TV debate

All seven candidates took part in the televised debate ahead of the presidential election in October

The first of Brazil's televised presidential debates has taken place just two weeks after the death of one of the leading candidates in October's election, Eduardo Campos.

His replacement, internationally renowned environmentalist Marina Silva, is already challenging incumbent Dilma Rousseff according to opinion polls.
Just two weeks ago, Ms Rousseff seemed to be coasting, almost sleepwalking towards another four-year term as president of Brazil.
Sure, economic growth has all but ground to a halt and crime levels have again started to creep up in many urban areas but Ms Rousseff's pragmatic and popular social policies have helped to elevate as many as 40 million of her countrymen and women out of poverty.
Surprise turn Moreover, despite international business concerns about her protectionist economic policies, none of Ms Rousseff's main opponents for the presidency were able to get close enough to her to really challenge her bid for a second term.

Before Eduardo Campos's death President Rousseff looked set to be elected to another term

So Tuesday's first televised debate between all seven presidential hopefuls should have been a walk in the park, a piece of political cake.
But politics is nothing if not unpredictable and fickle.
All of a sudden, President Rousseff began to look vulnerable and no longer unbeatable.
She arrived at Tuesday's debate, moderated by the Band TV Network, with new polls suggesting she was no longer the clear favourite she once was.
The woman who has turned the whole thing on its head and could yet make this Brazilian election the cliffhanger it was never meant to be, was not even in the race two weeks ago.
  But then tragedy struck and Marina Silva is the reluctant beneficiary.

Many voters say Ms Silva has a natural way with people and is a good listener

After the death of Socialist Party candidate Eduardo Campos in a recent plane crash, Ms Silva is suddenly the anti-establishment favourite in a field of candidates all seen as part of the political elite by an increasingly frustrated and sceptical electorate.
Slight, serious, incorruptible and religiously pious - it is difficult to criticise Ms Silva as a person.
But what about her politics? Born into an incredibly impoverished background in the rural north, she made her name as an environmental campaigner.
She is no political novice and has served before as minister in the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but her emergence as a genuine presidential contender meant all eyes and ears were on her tonight in Sao Paulo.
Diluted arguments Brazil's democracy is strong and vibrant, if not yet mature, but the policy of allowing all seven candidates to participate in these debates somewhat diluted the argument.

All eyes were on the three frontrunners, but some of the more controversial issues were brought up by the other candidates

A ridiculously complicated question format (too complicated to explain in these pages) also muddied the waters and sometimes let candidates off the hook, allowing them to make bland statements about themselves rather than engaging in real debate.
It all started with a single question to all seven candidates:
"According to the United Nations, Brazil has some of the most violent cities in the world...We live in an incredibly violent society, what would you do to reduce and challenge the that reality?"
Ms Silva, who was simply dressed and serious, almost stern, talked first of Mr Campos's loss.
But she took too much time to address the question, never really getting into details about what, after all, is one of the most pressing issues in Brazil today.
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