Brazil election candidates begin television campaigns

The main candidates for the presidency in Brazil have avoided direct criticism of their rivals in the first public broadcasts of the election campaign.

From Tuesday all Brazilian TV and radio networks have to broadcast daily two hours of programme by political parties canvassing votes for the October polls.

The main presidential candidates have appealed to voters’ emotions rather than detailing their party manifestos.

The public broadcasts are very influential in Brazilian elections.

For most voters, TV and radio are the main sources of information.

The two contenders leading in the polls – the government’s candidate Dilma Rousseff and the main challenger, Jose Serra – spoke about their childhood experiences and their passion for Brazil.

Over recent days TV comedians have been criticising a law that limits the manipulation of the candidates’ pictures.

This includes editing interviews to ridicule candidates or distorting their photographs with cartoons.

Marcelo Tas, the host of popular political satire show CQC, said that a group of comedians would hold a parade against the law this weekend in Rio.

“In Brazil we have a very recent democracy. We used to have no freedom of expression at all during the period of the dictatorship,” he said.

“Now that we have in power the people who fight for democracy like President Lula [Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva] we cannot go backwards in issues like freedom of expression.”

The law has been in place since 1997, but this year the Federal Elections Court issued a communique saying that it would now be enforced.

Any TV stations which do not comply could be fined in more than $100,000 (£64,000).