This diary will take a brief look at the most likely outcome of the Oct. 3, 2010 Elections in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress (equivalent to the US House of Representatives).
The Chamber of Deputies has 513 members, allocated among the 27 states according to population. The number of seats won by a political party is proportional to the total party vote within a particular state.
Because of this proportional nature of the vote, and the large number of parties vying for seats, it is not possible to break down the polling individually for each race, as done in earlier diaries describing the races for governor and senator. It is possible, however, to get a rough idea of how many seats a party is likely to capture based on factors such as individual popularity, party popularity, financial resources, party coalitions, and support from the government such as "party machines."
The current CW points to an increase in seats for the center-left coalition currently lead by the Workers' Party and President Lula, and a decrease for the opposition. If Dilma Rousseff wins the Presidential Election, she will enjoy a friendlier Congress than that of Lula.
Breakdown by party below the fold.
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