Timothy Kesicki, president of the Jesuit Conference in Washington, said many scholars acknowledge Serra's complicated legacy.
But the Native American campaign to stop Serra's canonization never gained an audience in Rome, Miranda said.
Both Mr Serra and Ms Rousseff are now courting Ms Silva, hoping to inherit her vote.
As if to underline that a new election is starting, Mr Serra sacked his campaign manager.
Sixth seed Nadia Petrova , of Russia, routed Italian Antonella Serra Zanetti 6-0 6-1.
But Mr Serra countered by accusing Ms Rousseff of electioneering and robotically obeying her strategists.
The splintering of Lula's political base ought to be good news for Mr Serra.
Secondly, Mr Serra has argued that only he can prevent Brazil following Argentina into financial chaos.
ECONOMIST: Is the government's��and the markets'��candidate doomed?
PT, but the bungled attempt to smear Mr Serra reminded voters of his party's sorry ethical record.
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She won in a run-off against former Sao Paulo governor Jose Serra with 55.9% of the votes.
Mr Serra is lucky to have a second chance, for his campaign has until recently been hapless.
Perhaps Mr Serra, a good former health minister but poor stump campaigner, is simply the wrong candidate.
ECONOMIST: Is the government's��and the markets'��candidate doomed?
Like Jose Serra, the health minister, his task is now to make a smaller budget go further.
Serra has stood his ground and refused throughout his career to use snitches in the cases he represents.
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That said, on the issues on which they disagree, Mr Serra is the more persuasive of the two.
Mr Serra, an abrasive and ambitious politician, may be the man to shake up Brazil's haphazard health services.
Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party is narrowly ahead of the Social Democratic Party's Jose Serra in recent polls.
The polls also suggest that voters do not blame Mr Serra's health ministry for an outbreak of dengue fever.
Ms Sarney might then be persuaded to run as Mr Serra's vice-president, or perhaps accept the presidency of Congress.
Her opponent, Jose Serra, also suffered persecution during Brazil's military rule and was forced into exile during the 1960s.
The logic leads many Wall Street analysts to a simple conclusion: if Mr Serra is elected, Brazil scrapes through.
Those who switched late from Ms Rousseff might find a speedy move to Mr Serra too dizzying to contemplate.
Recent polls suggest that, with the Greens staying neutral, Mr Serra will win a majority of Ms Silva's votes.
Davide Serra, of Morgan Stanley, is also positive about the foreign banks' chances.
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In the Cardoso government Mr Serra built a reputation as a good manager, determined to get his own way.
For either Mr da Silva or Mr Serra, that would be a calamitous start to their term of office.
The PT's president threatened to sue, and Mr Serra dropped the drug-trafficking charge.
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Investors are worried that a victory from one of Mr Serra's more left-wing rivals could derail the country's economy.
But in the second round on October 31st Mr Serra should glean more votes from supporters of defeated candidates.
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Since then, each new poll has brought Mr Serra bad news (see chart).
ECONOMIST: Is the government's��and the markets'��candidate doomed?
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