Brazil's poor voters

Children play amid tumbledown shacks in some of Rio de Janeiro's poorest hillside "favela" slums, places where armed drug traffickers lay down the law, stray bullets fly and raw sewage oozes into the streets.

For the poorest of Brazil's poor, daily life is a struggle.

This Sunday, they get a chance to make their voice heard when they join in the second round of voting for president, and they're expected to resoundingly support incumbent Dilma Rousseff and her Workers' Party.

Marcio Macedo, who lives in the Dona Marta shantytown, said he'll vote for Rousseff because she needs another term to fulfill her plans. "Even though she wasn't able to do all of her projects the past four years, she'll get to them now," he said.

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, a pig walks among the trash scattered in a street on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil's poorest will make their voice heard on Sunday, Oct. 26 in the second-round vote of a presidential election. They're expected to resoundingly support incumbent Dilma Rousseff and her Workers’ Party, thanks to a host of social programs that have helped lift tens of millions out of hand-to-mouth survival, providing them with tiny but steady sources of income. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

While their circumstances remain dire, the lowest echelons of Brazil's social pyramid have seen the greatest improvement in their lives over the past decade during three successive Workers' Party governments.

A host of new social programs are providing tiny but steady sources of income, helping lift tens of millions of Brazilians out of hand-to-mouth survival.

Those programs have the turned the poor into Rousseff's bedrock support. Polls say the poor overwhelmingly support her against opposition candidate Aecio Neves.

To read more, visit AP's Big Story.

APTOPIX Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, cable cars carrying commuters travels over shanty homes in the Alemao slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Polls have shown the poor overwhelmingly support President Dilma Rousseff, who is running for reelection, while the rich are massively behind opposition candidate Aecio Neves ahead of the Oct. 26 presidential run-off election. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, three-year-old Carlos stands in the doorway of his shack home on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Carlos' mother wrote on their wall in Portuguese : "If God changed my life, he'll also change my history… Two happy lives." Brazil will hold a presidential run-off election on Sunday, Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, a boy eats bread as he stands on a makeshift bridge that crosses a polluted water channel in the McLaren area of the Mare slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While Sunday’s race is too close to call, no one doubts the poor will come out for President Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

APTOPIX Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, Ivani Delfino poses for a photo in his home on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Delfino, who makes a living selling recycled trash and doing small construction jobs, said he'll vote for President Dilma Rousseff in the upcoming presidential run-off election on Oct. 26. While the circumstances of the poor remain dire, the lowest echelons of Brazil’s social pyramid have seen the net greatest improvement in their lives over the past decade during three successive Workers’ Party governments. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

APTOPIX Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, Maria Eduarda, 7, holds her two-year-old sister Kauania as another sister Joyce, 4, plays outside their home while their mother steps away briefly and a neighbor looks after them in a shantytown on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the circumstances of the poor remain dire, the lowest echelons of Brazil’s social pyramid have seen the net greatest improvement in their lives over the past decade during three successive Workers’ Party governments. Brazil will hold a presidential run-off election on Sunday, Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, Silmara Felizardo smiles from the kitchen of her home, made of scrap pieces in a shantytown on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Felizardo, who worked temporarily at this year's World Cup tournament and is currently taking cooking classes in hopes of getting work in a restaurant, said she'll vote for President Dilma Rousseff in Sundya's presidential run-off election. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, Isnaria Souza sits with dogs near her home in a shantytown on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Souza, 38, said she's still undecided between the two candidates running in Sunday's presidential run-off election. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, children share bread and soda in the McLaren area of the Mare slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the circumstances of the poor remain dire, the lowest echelons of Brazil’s social pyramid have seen the net greatest improvement in their lives over the past decade during three successive Workers’ Party governments. Brazil will hold a presidential run-off election on Sunday, Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, an election campaign sign hangs next to a shack home in a shantytown on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil's poorest will make their voice heard on Sunday, Oct. 26 in the second-round vote of a presidential election. They're expected to resoundingly support incumbent Dilma Rousseff and her Workers’ Party, thanks to a host of social programs that have helped lift tens of millions out of hand-to-mouth survival, providing them with tiny but steady sources of income. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

APTOPIX Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 21, 2014 photo, the upscale Ipanema neighborhood, left, stands along the coast, seen from the Cantagalo slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Polls have shown the poor overwhelmingly support President Dilma Rousseff, who is running for reelection, while the rich are massively behind opposition candidate Aecio Neves ahead of the Oct. 26 presidential run-off election. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, a little girl smiles to the camera as she plays in the McLaren area of the Mare slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the circumstances of the poor remain dire, the lowest echelons of Brazil’s social pyramid have seen the net greatest improvement in their lives over the past decade during three successive Workers’ Party governments. Brazil will hold a presidential run-off election on Sunday, Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 16, 2014 photo, Marcio Macedo finishes building the entrance to his home at the top of the Dona Marta slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Macedo, 47, said he'll vote for President Rousseff Dilma in Sunday's presidential run-off election, because he believes she has good projects. “Even though she wasn’t able to do all of her projects the past four years, she’ll get to them now," he said. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, a resident holds a dog as she stands near shack homes and a polluted water channel in the McLaren area of the Mare slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While Sunday’s race is too close to call, no one doubts the poor will come out for President Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, Leandra Lopes sleeps inside her home in the McLaren area of the Mare slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lopes, 12, lives with her mother and four siblings in their one room makeshift home. Brazil's poorest will make their voice heard on Sunday, Oct. 26 in the second-round vote of a presidential election. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil Poor Voters Photo Gallery

In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, Silmara Felizardo makes coffee inside her home in a shantytown on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Felizardo, who worked temporarily at this year's World Cup tournament and is currently taking cooking classes in hopes of getting work in a restaurant, said she'll vote for President Dilma Rousseff in Sunday's presidential run-off election. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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Opening text from the AP Big Story, AP PHOTOS: Brazil's Poor, Rousseff's Solid Support.

Lead Image Caption: In this Oct. 20, 2014 photo, three-year-old Carlos stands in the doorway of his shack home on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Carlos' mother wrote on their wall in Portuguese : "If God changed my life, he'll also change my history… Two happy lives." Brazil will hold a presidential run-off election on Sunday, Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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