Brazilians prepare to vote following the final presidential debate

World Today

Brazil pre-election debateThe Presidential candidate for the Brazilian Workers’ Party and current President Dilma Rousseff (R) and the presidential candidate for Brazilian Social Democracy Party Aecio Neves shake hands before the start of a television debate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 24, 2014. Brazilian run-off elections will see current President and Brazilian Workers’ Party candidate Dilma Rousseff face Brazilian Social Democracy Party candidate Aecio Neves next October 26. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOPHE SIMON

Brazilians go to the polls on Sunday for the final runoff vote to elect the country’s president. The contest is between the incumbent leader, Dilma Rousseff, and challenger Aecio Neves. CCTV America’s Stephen Gibbs reports from Rio de Janeiro.

There was cordial air to the start of the final pre-election debate. But once it began, that soon changed.

Aecio Neves, who is marginally trailing in the polls, repeatedly attacked Rousseff’s governing party for being corrupt.

“If we ever analyze the government of the Workers’ Party,  I can assure you they will be associated with one of the biggest corruption scandals in our history,” Neves said.

“In all parties there are good and bad people,” Rousseff responded. “Now, what I want to tell you, is that even if it’s painful for some, those who commit irregularities will pay.”

This has been a divisive campaign in a divided country. Ahead of voting day in Rio, the city’s notorious elite police squad was showing off its security preparations-35,000 officers will be on the streets of Rio on Sunday.

Election polls throughout the ten-week campaign have swung wildly. In general, however, it is the country’s poorest citizens who will likely be voting for Rousseff, while its richest are expected to vote for the more business-friendly Neves.

The real battle in the final hours is for the undecided voters — they will choose the future direction of the country.

For more insight on the Brazil presidential run-off, as well as the influence the economy could have in the elections, CCTV America spoke to Monica deBolle. She is a macro-economist, and a Global Fellow at the Brazil Institute’s Woodrow Wilson Center.