Brazilian party official resigns amid rift with new candidate

Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-8-22 16:26:31

Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)'s lead campaign coordinator quit Thursday after its presidential candidate was officially changed, causing an internal rift as the election is only 45 days away.

PSB decided on Wednesday that Marina Silva will replace Eduardo Campos, who died last week in a plane crash, as the party's standard-bearer.

But Siqueira said in the next day he would not campaign for Silva, a former running mate of Campos, because he does not recognize her as a representative of Campos's legacy.

He also criticized Silva for making changes to his team without consulting the party.

In response, Silva said Siqueira's departure was due to a misunderstanding.

Silva had run for president for the Green Party in the 2010 election and finished in the third place, carrying 19 million votes.

After a failed attempt to found a new party, she joined PSB as Campos's running mate for the 2014 presidential race.

However, Silva was not unanimously accepted inside PSB, and it is uncertain whether Siqueira's departure will lead to more tensions inside the PSB.

Yet she appeared to be more popular among the voters than her predecessor, carrying twice as much support as Campos had in a latest poll.

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