FACTBOX-Brazil candidate Jose Serra's positions

[Meshuga]

I could not find a "factbox" on Dilma but there is one for José Serra who was officially endorsed by his coalition (the opposition) yesterday.

FACTBOX-Brazil candidate Jose Serra's positions

April 9 (Reuters) - Brazil's main opposition party will launch Jose Serra on Saturday as its candidate for president in Oct. 3 elections.

Serra of the centrist PSDB party leads in voter surveys 36 percent against 27 percent for his main rival, Dilma Rousseff, of the ruling Workers' Party, according to the latest Datafolha poll.

Here are some of Serra's positions on key issues, based on his or his party's statements and expert views.

ECONOMIC STABILITY

Serra, like Rousseff, would not break with the mostly market-friendly policies that have ensured economic stability over the past decade: a free-floating currency, inflation control and fiscal discipline.

FISCAL DISCIPLINE

Serra is widely perceived to be the tougher of the two main presidential candidates on fiscal discipline and his party has said he would cap current expenditures, potentially paving the way for swifter interest rate and tax cuts.

STATE ENTERPRISES

Serra is not opposed to strong state enterprises but he would likely favor more private sector participation in the economy than Rousseff. Serra, who authorized the sale of a Sao Paulo state bank when he was governor there, is also seen as more open to selective privatization.

INDUSTRY REGULATORS

A Serra government would strengthen industry regulators, which the PSDB says have lost power and independence to the government.

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FOREIGN POLICY

Serra may cool ties with some of Lula's left-wing allies in Latin America. That could affect energy investments in Bolivia and Venezuela, where Lula had prodded the state-oil giant Petrobras to invest to foster regional integration. Some analysts think Serra could also take a harder line in trade disputes with Argentina and the South American trade block Mercosur.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0924304720100409