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In a way it was poetic justice. Dilma Rousseff was elected as the first woman President of Brazil in the October 2010 elections, the new head of the very country for which she had fought guerrilla warfare a long time back. Now, with the ink on the voter ballots barely dry, Rousseff already has her hands full.
Before she ran for elections, Rousseff was a little known figure. But her involvement in politics is quite deep rooted and can be traced back to her college days when Rousseff became interested in socialism. In the late 1960s, Brazil was controlled by a steely military dictatorship, which had begun to stir the public into active resentment. Caught up in the fever of revolution, Rousseff exchanged a comfortable upper-middle class life, complete with French and piano lessons, for a militant life. Captured and imprisoned by the opposition forces and later reportedly tortured, Rousseff pursued academics when she was released in 1972, putting these volatile times to rest.
Although graduating with a degree in economics, politics was not out of her system. Rousseff chose to remain politically active, this time following the path of a career civil servant. Rousseff worked her way to becoming the State Secretary of Energy twice through the 1990s. But it was her alliance with outgoing President Lula da Silva that boosted Rousseff’s political trajectory.
In 2002, Brazil was suffering one of the worst energy crises ever. Faced with severe electricity shortages and rationing of power, the just elected da Silva began addressing Brazil’s problem. And that is when Rousseff caught his attention. “We started debating and I realized she had a differential characteristic from the others who were there, because she came in with the practicality of the assignment of running the Secretary of Energy of Rio Grande do Sul,” recalled da Silva in a speech. To top it all, Rio Grande do Sul was at the time the only state that was not required to ration its electricity. Clearly impressed by her performance, it was not long before he appointed her Minister of Mining and Energy.
During her term she was responsible for a complete overhaul of regulations concerning electricity and gas exploration and for beefing up the role of the state in both these sectors. In 2003, she initiated a program named “Luz para Todos” or “Electricity for All”, that promised electricity to two million Brazilian homes for the next five years. She also handled an infrastructure fund worth billions of dollars with an aim to modernize the country. Alongside, Rousseff was appointed as chairwoman of Petrobras, the Brazilian oil giant. Leveraging this opportunity, Rousseff helped map out new oil laws for the government. This would enhance the role played by Petrobras in developing oil fields, a move which was expected to provide a big boost to the nation’s oil revenues. By 2010, da Silva was confident enough to choose his 62-year-old opera-loving Energy Minister to run as a Presidential candidate.
With the sounds from victory celebrations not yet faded, Rousseff already must brace herself for the challenges that lie ahead. Rousseff inherits one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the proud bearer of the ‘B’ in the Brazil Russia India China (BRIC) quartet. Yet this spotlight also puts immense pressure on Rousseff to maintain the country’s speeding growth rates while tackling its infrastructure woes and complex bureaucracy. Rousseff has already indicated a preference for a stronger state role in areas like banking and energy. Plans to step up government efficiency and untangle Brazil’s complicated tax system are also in the cards.
“I received from millions of Brazilians maybe the most important mission of
my life”
Dilma Rousseff, 2010
But Rousseff’s toughest task is not at all related to the upkeep of Brazil’s economic health. In a nation that adores and worships da Silva, the leader who enamored his way through two consecutive terms, Rousseff is never free from comparison. She faces a monumental chore in weaning herself away from da Silva’s shadow and establishing a presence of her own. “Dilma will not be Lula II. She is a different person; it’s a different moment, and it’s a different job,” says Roberto Mangabeira Unger, a former minister of strategic affairs during da Silva’s term. Rousseff’s undertaking is compounded by the fact that she is known as the Iron Lady for her sharp temper and lack of natural charm, a stark contrast to the endearing da Silva.
Rousseff, a cancer survivor, remains humbly aware of her position. “I know that a leader like Lula will never be far from his people and from every one of us. The task of succeeding him is difficult and challenging,” she admitted in her victory speech. As she takes office on January 1, 2011, Rousseff hopes to cover some ground and win a few hearts. And this is the hope of close to 198 million Brazilians as well.
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