Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (CNN) -- Brazilian voters head to the polls Sunday in a general election that spans across all levels of government, from the presidency to local offices.
The spotlight will be on the presidential race, where nine candidates are vying for the nation's top job.
Polls indicate that former Marxist guerrilla Dilma Rousseff is in the lead, positioning her to become the country's first female president.
Rousseff is the hand-picked successor of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who has an 80 percent approval rating. The outgoing president has steered Brazil into a major global economy, and his choice for the next president appears to be influencing voters.
Brazil now has the world's eighth-largest economy, which has grown 7 percent a year on the back of a commodities boom and market-friendly policies.
And the country will get more worldwide attention in the coming years, hosting events such as the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time Sunday. Voting is mandatory for anyone over 18 and under 70.
CNN
