Brazil's presidential contenders face off in initial debate following first-round vote

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, who is running for re-election with the Workers Party, PT, speaks during a campaign news conference at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Oct. 13, 2014. President Rousseff will face challenger Aecio Neves in a second-round vote in Brazil's most unpredictable presidential election since the nation's return to democracy nearly three decades ago. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) (The Associated Press)

In this Oct. 8, 2014 photo, Aecio Neves, Brazilian Social Democracy Party presidential candidate, straightens his tie as he arrives to a campaign rally at the Memorial JK that honors former Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek, in Brasilia, Brazil. Neves turned Brazil's politics on its head with his surprise showing in the first round of presidential voting but his toughest task lies ahead - defeating incumbent Dilma Rousseff and her juggernaut Workers' Party which has governed for 12 years. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) (The Associated Press)

SAO PAULO – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her rival in the Oct. 26 runoff election are facing off Tuesday night in their first debate since the first-round ballot.

Challenger Aecio Neves from the main opposition party is in a dead heat with Rousseff in opinion polls. Neves staged a surprising comeback in the first-round vote earlier this month.

He's expected to hammer Rousseff over accusations of a corruption scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras.

Rousseff is likely to tell those watching the debate that Neves will cut the popular social programs installed during the 12 years that her Workers' Party has been in power.

She's also expected to point to the fact that she beat Neves in the first-round vote in the state where he was a two-term governor.