"Along with 202 million Brazilians, I've spent the past weeks watching the most vitriolic election campaign in the country's recent history", writes Laura Bonilla, AFP deputy bureau chief in Rio de Janeiro. "The rivals on the ballot for Sunday's presidential run-off have torn into each other in a series of televised debates, accusing one another -- explicitly or by insinuation -- of corruption, nepotism, incompetence, drunk or drugged driving, beating women, and using Nazi propaganda tactics, among other things".

"Then, without fail, Dilma Rousseff, the leftist incumbent, and Aecio Neves, her center-right challenger, kiss each other on their sweaty, heavily made-up cheeks, smile and exchange congratulations."