The government-allied Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, widened its control of state governments in the latest election, taking 7 of 27 state posts. The party previously held 5 state governments. The governing Workers’s Party, or PT, meanwhile, held on to 5 state governor’s seats, while states controlled by the opposition Social Democratic Party, or PSDB, fell to 5 from 8. The PMDB made its strongest advance in Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, and the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The PT, meanwhile, captured the key states of Minas Gerais and Bahia. The PSDB once again held on to strong control in Brazil’s most populous and industrialized state of São Paulo and secured the central western grain producing states of Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul. Smaller parties also made a strong advance in the latest elections, increasing their control to 7 states from 3 previously. Most of those states, however, are in the less populated Amazon region in the north of the country. The state victories of the PT and its ally the PMDB, meanwhile, should benefit the government of president Dilma Rousseff, who was re-elected to a second four-year term Sunday with 51% of the vote.