Rousseff re-elected as President of Brazil | The BRICS Post Brics Business RSS Latest Rousseff re-elected as President of Brazil October 27, 2014, 1:17 am Supporters of the Brazil’s President and candidate for Workers Party, Dilma Rousseff, celebrate in Paulista Avenue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 26, 2014 [Xinhua] President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has won a second term in Brazil, taking 51.64 percent of the vote to 48.36% for centrist Aecio Neves. It was a particularly tight race , with the two candidates technically tied for much of the three weeks of the second round, but Rousseff surged ahead during the last few days. Election data showed that most of Rousseff’s votes came from the poorer north and northeast, where social programs begun by former-President Lula and continued by Rousseff, both of the Workers’ Party (PT), have lifted millions from poverty .

Wealthy population centres in the south and southeast, where people were more concerned about economic stagnation and foreign investment, tended to vote for Neves, speaking to a polarisation along class lines that has characterised much of the race. “She’s done so much for the poorest people in the northeast,” said Elisia Cardozo Barbosa, 46, a housewife in Brasília. “For me personally, food, meat is cheaper and better quality, medication is cheaper. Lots of things have improved for us.” Much of the PT’s campaign had focused on these social programs, suggesting in attack ads that Neves would have reduced or eliminated them. “In the end [the people] decided for what they know,” said Sonia Fleury, political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. “They chose a government which they know is capable of assuring employment and a minimum wage compatible with inflation, and for giving guarantees to the programs that are important to the poor, and to the workers.” In a victory speech in Brasília on Sunday night, Rousseff acknowledged that her victory had been narrow, and cited political reform as a priority for her second mandate. “Sometimes, in history, close results produce stronger and faster changes than wide victories,” Rousseff said.

“Among the reforms necessary, the first and most important is political reform.” Political reform was one of the demands of the country-wide protests that swept Brazil in June 2013 , bring at their peak some 1 million people onto the streets. Rousseff attempted to pass a “mini-reform” shortly afterwards but faced serious opposition from congress. With such a narrow victory, passing something so complex and contentious as political reform is likely to be even more difficult now. Rousseff’s first challenge, said Fleury, would be to build an effective governing coalition, and create dialogue with the opposition. “She will have a very hard time,” said Fleury. “She must remake her links to the PT supporters, and build bridges, because statistically she must consider the opposition,” Rousseff also declared a “rigorous commitment to combat corruption.” Rousseff’s bid for reelection has been hampered by an emerging corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras which allegedly saw politicians receive kickbacks from contracts in return for congressional votes. Just a few days ago, rightwing magazine Veja published accusations that Rousseff knew about this scheme. The race has been very eventful.

Marina Silva, who came third, entered the race only after former-Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) candidate Eduardo Campos was killed in a plane crash . Her powerful backstory as a former-rubber tapper from the Amazon, and her call for a “new politics,” quickly pushed her to the front of the polls. But following attacks and some campaign blunders, she lost momentum and and was eliminated in the first round of the election on October 5. In a short speech after he conceded, Neves said that he was “grateful” to everyone who had voted for him, and that he wished Rousseff success in her new government. Lucy Jordan in Brasilia, Brazil for The BRICS Post. One Response to Rousseff re-elected as President of Brazil Maureen Greicius October 27, 2014 at 2:56 pm Good luck to Dilma and her upcoming term. Good luck on the corruption.

Leave a Reply Rousseff likely to be re-elected: Poll | The BRICS Post Brics Business RSS Latest Rousseff likely to be re-elected: Poll October 1, 2014, 6:04 am Brazil’s President and Workers Party presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff (R) participates in a campaign rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 20, 2014 [Xinhua] Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff holds on to her lead against rivals in a poll released on Tuesday, ahead of Sunday’s presidential race, strengthening her chances of being re-elected. According to pollster Datafolha, Rousseff, who represents the Workers’ Party, had 40 per cent support among voters, the same as the previous poll showed last Friday. Third-ranked Aecio Neves rose in the poll and got closer to runner-up Marina Silva, making the fight for the second place tougher. Silva, of the Brazilian Socialist Party, garnered 25 per cent support, down from 27 per cent last week, while Neves, of the conservative Brazilian Social Democratic Party, got 20 per cent support, up from 18 per cent last week.

Eight other candidates together got 3 per cent voting intentions. If Rousseff has to face a run-off with Silva, she would win by 49-41 per cent, the poll showed. And if she has to contest Neves in the second round, she would be re-elected by 50-41 per cent. “Looking in the rearview mirror to check if I can see Marina Silva and Aecio Neves, but I can not,” Rousseff tweeted after the DataFolha poll results were published on Tuesday, taking a dig at her rivals. The Datafolha poll, carried out on Monday and Tuesday, surveyed 7,520 voters from across the country. Earlier last week, Rousseff said improvement of Brazil’s economy is related to US growth prospects. “We must see how the crisis is going to evolve. If the U.S. evolves well, I believe Brazil can enter a new phase, with less need for stimulus,” the President said in a televised interview. Brazil will then be able to change its economic policy from a prudent stance that focuses on securing jobs and investment to a more proactive one, she said.

Some of Brazil’s biggest trading partners in South America are going through a difficult time, added Rousseff. The Brazilian economy is expected to slow to 0.3 per cent growth this year. During Sunday’s elections, Brazilians will also choose state governors, senators as well as federal and state representatives. Dilma Rousseff is reelected president of Brazil in bitterly fought runoff - The Washington Post Dilma Rousseff is reelected president of Brazil in bitterly fought runoff The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! By Dom Phillips By Dom Phillips October 26, 2014 Follow @domphillips RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was reelected by a whisker in a second-round head-to-head vote, after one of the closest, most aggressive campaigns in the country’s recent history.

Rousseff, whose left-wing Workers’ Party has governed Brazil since 2003, had 51.6 percent with 99 percent of votes counted. Aécio Neves, the center-right candidate for the Brazilian Social Democratic Party, came second, with 48.4 percent. Cheers rang out and firecrackers exploded in central Rio as the results came in. The election was the top subject of discussion Sunday, with Workers’ Party activists carrying red flags and both sides setting up camps under awnings on city streets. Rousseff’s party campaigned hard on its social policies, playing down Brazil’s stumbling economy and emphasizing social programs, which have helped to reduce poverty by 55 percent since 2003. Allan Moreno, 22, who is unemployed, was one of millions who voted for continuity. He was wearing a “Dilma” sticker on his T-shirt when he left a polling station in Glória, an area in central Rio. He voted for Rousseff, he said, “to be sincere, because I’m poor.” He added, “She does more for the people.” Rousseff supporters celebrate the election results before a news conference in a hotel in Brasilia, Brazil on Oct.

26. (Eraldo Peres/AP) Rousseff’s victory came after a tough, dramatic campaign marked by sea changes in public opinion. She initially was expected to win easily, but that changed Aug. 13 when another candidate, Eduardo Campos, then polling in third place with 9 percent, was killed in a plane crash. Former environment minister Marina Silva, who came third in the 2010 election, entered the race and quickly took over the lead in opinion polls. The Workers’ Party targeted Silva in its official election advertising, suggesting in one commercial that her proposals for an autonomous central bank would deliver Brazil to rich bankers and leave poor families hungry. “The Workers’ Party perceived that Marina was a real threat and made a very strong campaign against her,” said Jairo Nicolau, a political scientist at the Federal University of Rio. Brazilians commonly refer to all candidates, and their president, by first names. Silva was eliminated in the first-round vote Oct. 5, and the Workers’ Party targeted Neves. Brazilians quickly became polarized between the two parties. A war raged on social media, with friends and even family members falling out over political affiliations and unfriending one another on Facebook.

The candidates traded insults in debates. Neves called Rousseff “frivolous” and a “liar”; Rousseff accused him of nepotism. “It is a level of violence we have never seen before,” Nicolau said. Rousseff’s hair’s-breadth victory was in no small part the result of the endorsement of the popular Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former union leader who was president for eight years before Rousseff. Lula was highly visible during this campaign, as he was when Rousseff won in 2010, even appearing on posters alongside her. Rousseff’s support was strongest in lower-income groups, susceptible to her claims that her opponents would end programs such as the Family Allowance income support plan, which benefits about 50 million Brazilians. “She never dropped below a certain level, because of this public,” said Ricardo Ismael, a political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. A supporter of presidential candidate Aecio Neves cries after listening to the election results in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on Oct. 26. Neves narrowly lost to incumbent Dilma Rousseff.

(Eugenio Savio/AP) Rousseff also could count on support from left-wing unions and social movements. As campaigning for the runoff became more inflammatory, the election became a matter of taking sides, not just for economic reasons, but also on what many Brazilians considered fundamental principles — broadly speaking, this simplified into social justice vs. neo-liberal economics, even though Neves vowed to maintain the Family Allowance, and Rousseff’s party says it is business-friendly. The Workers’ Party characterized Neves as the candidate of the rich, white, privileged elite that traditionally ran Brazil. “The theme of the campaign has been whites versus blacks, rich versus poor, and this narrative was constructed by the Workers’ Party,” Nicolau said. His words were echoed by Gucelia dos Santos, 23, an unemployed mother in Cidade Nova favela in Entre Rios, Bahia state. “He is a mauricinho and filhino do papai,” she said of Neves — effectively, a spoiled rich kid. Neves was private secretary to his grandfather Tancredo Neves, who was chosen as Brazil’s first post-dictatorship president in an indirect vote but died before he could properly assume office.

The younger Neves served two terms as governor of Minas Gerais state, leaving office in 2010 with a 92 percent approval rating. But he struggled to overcome the image of a “playboy” in the minds of many Brazilians — his second wife, Letícia Weber, is a former model; he dated a former Miss Brazil, Natália Guimarães; and he was forced to answer, and deny, questions about whether he used cocaine. Marches in favor of Neves by his supporters helped reinforce the stereotype. In São Paulo last week, pro-Neves demonstrators chanted in support of Brazil’s military police, who patrol the streets. This was unlikely to endear Neves to the many Brazilians who regard the police as at best corrupt and violent, and at worst as a throwback to the military dictatorship.

In contrast, some of Rousseff’s campaign imagery played up her past as a member of the armed left-wing resistance to Brazil’s military dictatorship, using an old photograph of Rousseff in thick glasses and the caption “brave heart.” Born 1947 in Belo Horizonte to a Bulgarian immigrant father and his Brazilian teacher wife, Rousseff was politicized as a teenager, and imprisoned and tortured by the military regime after joining the armed resistance to the dictatorship. She became first state secretary for mines, energy and communication in Rio Grande do Sul in 1993, then mines and energy minister for Lula from 2003 to 2005, before becoming his chief of staff. But her reputation as a hard-nosed technocrat has been eroded as Brazil’s economy has not grown as expected under her mandate; the economy entered a “technical recession” in August after two quarters of slight contraction. Inflation, too, has inched above the government’s 6.5 percent target. As a result, Rousseff’s support was reduced, said Ismael, among self-employed voters in an emergent middle class, and in industrial, financial and agribusiness sectors.

“There is a lack of confidence that Dilma is capable of producing more growth in a second mandate,” he said. Neves had tried to hurt Rousseff over a corruption scandal linking overpayments at Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company, to payments to political parties such as the Workers’ Party. “It is absurd,” said retiree Halina Persercka, 62, after voting for Neves in Rio on Sunday. New allegations that Rousseff and Lula knew about the scheme were published by the antigovernment news weekly Veja on Friday. The magazine came out a day before it normally goes on sale and had sold out on many Rio newsstands by Sunday. “I reordered twice,” said newsstand owner Almir Tavora, 56. But the scandal’s impact was not enough to carry Neves to victory. And now Rousseff must unite a country she divided to win. “I do not believe, from the bottom of my heart, that these elections have divided the country,” she said in her victory speech. “I believe they mobilized ideas and emotions that are at times contradictory.” Rousseff thanked Lula and promised dialogue and political reform to fight corruption and give impulse to economic growth.

“Brazil, this daughter of yours, once again, will not flee from the fight,” she concluded. “Viva, Brazil!” world Dilma Rousseff pledges unity after narrow Brazil election victory | World news | The Guardian Dilma Rousseff pledges unity after narrow Brazil election victory Rouseff says she wants to be a ‘better president’ after fighting off strong challenge by Aécio Neves Dilma Rousseff addresses supporters after her re-election as Brazilian president Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro Monday 27 October 2014 08.25 EDT First published on Sunday 26 October 2014 18.42 EDT Close This article is 2 years old President Dilma Rousseff has struck a conciliatory tone after her victory in the closest Brazilian election in generations. Rousseff was re-elected by a narrow margin on Sunday, ensuring that Latin America’s biggest nation will remain under the control of a Workers party (PT) committed to tackling inequality. She won 51.6% of the valid votes cast to secure a much reduced mandate, having fought off a strong challenge by the pro-business Aécio Neves.

In a victory speech, a beaming Rousseff said she hoped the nation could rally together. “Instead of increasing differences and creating gaps, I strongly hope that we create the conditions to unite,” she told supporters in Brasilia. “I want to be a much better president than I have been until now.” She gave particular thanks to former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who many tip to run again in 2018. Rousseff is ineligible to stand for a third consecutive term. Brazil’s stock exchange lost six points early on Monday, and its currency has fallen against the dollar in the first hours of trading. Analysts had predicted the market would react negatively to a Rousseff victory, under whom the economy has largely stalled. Neves was overwhelmingly favoured by Brazil’s business community, who believed his market-friendly policies would help jumpstart growth. Neves said he had called the president to offer his compliments and expressed thanks to supporters. In Rio de Janeiro, more than a thousand Workers party supporters braved driving rain to gather under the arches in Lapa, where they watched the results come in on a giant screen.

As Rousseff’s victory flashed up, they erupted in cheers, waved campaign flags, danced and chanted, “Olé, olé, olé, olé, Dilma, Dilma!” “This is good for Brazil ,” said one campaigner, Vinicius Barchilon. “Dilma has done a lot for the poor and we have a government that is determined to tackle inequality.” Pinterest Dilma Rousseff supporters in Rio de Janeiro. Photograph: Pilar Olivares/Reuters Rousseff’s support remained strong in the poor north and north-east, areas that have benefited most from state development projects and where a high proportion of the electorate are recipients of bolsa familia , a poverty relief programme that covers almost a quarter of the population. But she lost many voters in the more affluent south-eastern cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro due to middle-class frustration with the moribund economy and corruption scandals. Voters appeared divided – and confused – by an often dirty campaign characterised by name-calling, accusations of corruption, nepotism and incompetence, rumour-mongering on social networks and suspicious delays in the release of government data on deforestation and poverty.

The overwhelmingly anti-Rousseff mainstream media focused on a huge bribes-for-votes scandal in which kickbacks from the country’s biggest company, Petrobras, were used to buy off politicians and fill campaign coffers. A report in Veja magazine this week claimed that Rousseff and her predecessor, Da Silva, were aware of the wrongdoing, a charge they deny. Neves made this the focus of his appeal to voters. “There’s one measure above all others to end corruption: vote the PT out of office,” he said during the final televised debate. But his message was ultimately drowned by a string of attacks. The Workers’ party accused Neves of corruption for building an airport on his family’s land, of nepotism by adding half a dozen cousins and relatives to the public payroll during his time as governor of Minas Gerais state, and of disrespecting women – an allusion to a widely circulated report that he punched his wife before they were married. Neves’ denial failed to stop his support plunging among female voters. Pinterest Supporters of Aécio Neves at campaign headquarters in Belo Horizonte. Photograph: Sergio Moraes/Reuters The name-calling was no more edifying.

Neves compared Workers’ party campaign manager João Santana to the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. In response, Lula da Silva said the Social Democrats persecuted the poor north-east region of Brazil in the same way the Nazis maltreated the Jews, and that Neves, whom he has described as a drunk and a playboy, was as intolerant as King Herod. Nonetheless, the 143 million eligible voters appear to have carried out their electoral duties peacefully – if not enthusiastically. Although voting is mandatory, more than 29 million abstained and about 7 million votes were blank or nullified. Rousseff, a marxist guerrilla during her student years, has pledged to build on her government’s success in reducing inequality. Over the 12 years of Workers party rule, almost 40 million people – or a fifth of the population – have moved out of poverty. The rich-poor gap remains one of the highest in the world, but the Gini coefficient measure of inequality of 0.49 is down from 0.56 in 2001 and unemployment is close to record lows. But the overall condition of the economy is less impressive.

Brazil entered a technical recession earlier this year and the financial markets have turned more sharply against the Workers party. A key indication of how Rousseff, an economist by training, plans to turn this around will be her choice of finance minister. The current holder of the post, Guido Mantega, is standing down at the end of the year. President Dilma Rousseff wins re-election in Brazil - CNN.com President Dilma Rousseff wins re-election in Brazil By Shasta Darlington and Dana Ford, CNN Updated 5:28 AM ET, Mon October 27, 2014 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED Dilma Rousseff wins re-election in Brazil 02:05 Story highlights With more than 99% of votes counted, Dilma Rousseff had 51.59% of the vote Opposition candidate Aecio Neves had 48.41% The election was one of the tightest competitions in recent years Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff won a hotly contested runoff election on Sunday.

With more than 99% of votes counted, the incumbent Rousseff had 51.59% of the vote, according to official results. Opposition candidate Aecio Neves garnered 48.41%. Neves said he called to congratulate Rousseff, who thanked voters on Twitter late Sunday for their support. The election was one of the tightest competitions in recent years. Before becoming the country's first female president in 2011, Rousseff, from the Workers' Party, was chief of staff to former President Lula da Silva. She claims that under the presidencies of her predecessor and herself, masses of Brazilians have risen out of poverty. Rousseff, 66, presided over the soccer World Cup in Brazil. She took a lot of political flack over how public money was spent. The President defeated Neves, a 54-year-old economist, who is a well-known name and a career politician. His campaign slogan promised reforms to lower inflation and encourage more investment in the country: "The sure path for Brazil to really change." The pro-business candidate belongs to the Brazilian Social Democratic Party, one of the country's strongest.

In Brazil Elections, President Dilma Has A Better Country On Her Side In Brazil Elections, President Dilma Has A Better Country On Her Side {{article.article.images.featured.caption}} Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Full Bio The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Loading ... This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe What a difference a month makes. In September, it appeared certain that incumbent president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, would struggle in a second round run-off vote with Marina Silva, a petite firebrand and one of the former stars of Dilma's Workers' Party. While this election is likely to go to a second round run-off, and possibly pitting Marina vs Dilma in an ex-Workers' Party vs Workers' Party bid for the presidency, Dilma has some power in her corner now. That power isn't Workers' Party strongman Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was and still is one of Brazil's favorite politicians. He has been relatively quiet this election season. What Dilma has in her corner is a better country.

Simply put, after 12 years of Workers' Party rule, Brazil is better. Poll results ahead of Sunday's first round of voting suggests that Brazilians see that. According to an Ibope poll, Dilma has 46% of the vote, while Marina is down to 27% and third place rival Aecio Neves has 22%. A second round of voting is required if no one receives 51% of the popular vote in the first round. Brazil incumbent Dilma Rousseff has good stats on her side, and better discourse on the economic front that could propel her to victory either Sunday or in a second election on Oct. 26. Forget the insider baseball rhetoric of political rivalries: Who would God vote for? Is this one or that one gay? All of that is irrelevant nonsense. All Dilma has to do to win is remind Brazilians that Brazil is better. They don't care if the Bovespa is up 10% or down. They care about having a job, potable water, and access to quality healthcare to name a few issues of importance.

According to a recent household survey by IBGE, the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, educational attainment levels continue to rise; middle incomes are rising, but the poor are doing better than ever; digital inclusion is improving; access to healthcare is improving. The number of working children aged 5 to 13 years old dropped 10.6%. Among children in this age group still working, 96.4% were attending school full-time in 2013. This is the direct result of Workers' Party policies which require poor families to keep their children in school in order to receive federal assistance. Brazil achieved its lowest recorded rate of illiteracy, and the number of children aged 4 and 5 years old attending pre-school increased from 78% in 2012 to 81% in 2013, according to the study. The average years each Brazilian spends in school continues to grow, and is now increasing at a rate of almost two years of study per decade. When you think about it, this is exactly what the protests were about in Brazil over the last year. Brazilians clamoring for better public services, more investment in school and less investment in soccer stadiums.

On one had, public services in Brazil have a lot of room for improvement. On the other hand, they are improving. There were a few mistakes in the survey, which the media and rival parties pounced on to promote the story that IBGE was working to make Brazil look flawless in order to give Dilma a boost. Still, the facts remain: Brazil is better now than it was 12 years ago. Despite a weaker economy, Brazilians are not going hungry. Investors are not filing out of the country in droves. This is not the 1990s. Brazil is not Argentina. Will Rousseff’s Reelection Move Brazil Forward? Will Rousseff’s Reelection Move Brazil Forward? Oct 29, 2014 mic Listen to the podcast: Felipe Monteiro on Dilma Roussef's Reelection Leadership Content On October 26, Brazil re-elected President Dilma Rousseff, the 66-year old leader of the Workers’Party, whose first term began in 2011.

In one of the most dramatic elections in the history of the world’s fourth-largest democracy, Rousseff gained a very narrow victory, securing 51.6% of the votes compared with 48.4% for her opponent, the 54-year old economist Aecio Neves, candidate of the Social Democracy Party. “ This is the closest and most bitterly fought election in Brazil’s history Twitter , so this is a very special election,” Felipe Monteiro, a senior fellow at Wharton’s Mack Institute, told the Knowledge@Wharton show on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM Channel 111 . (Listen to the podcast at the top of this page.) Monteiro, who is also a professor of strategy at INSEAD, spoke about the factors that drove her reelection and the most significant challenges facing Rousseff during her second term. According to Monteiro, the biggest challenge for Rousseff is to “reunite the country.” During her re-election campaign, he noted, “the country was really divided. You could see this everywhere.” A major source of anxiety has been the country’s rising rate of inflation. Until about 15 years ago, “Brazil suffered from hyper-inflation, which everyone was scared of.

So managing to keep down inflation” in subsequent years was considered one of the country’s“biggest achievements.” However, over the past year or two, “The Brazilian economy started to stagnate, and inflation is up again. This generated a lot of uncertainty,” Monteiro added. In September 2014, Brazil’s inflation rate reached 6.75%, the highest rate since October 2011 and more than two points above its target. As for slowing growth, after expanding by as much as 7.5% in 2010, Brazil’s GDP rose only 2.3% in 2013. In 2014, Brazil is on track to expand by just 1.8%, according to the OECD Economic Outlook, published last May. A Focus on the Poor While Rousseff won a landslide in the states of the north and northeast — the poorest region — Neves captured the southern states, which are wealthier and more attractive to foreign investors. A key factor, said Monteiro, is “all the social programs” carried out by her administration.

“A lot of Brazilians don’t have a job; people could really relate to her and say, ‘This government is working and focusing on the poorest regions of the country.’”A second factor was that “Neves was much less known in the northeast. His campaign was really well known in the regions of the south,” where he managed to establish a dialogue with the business community, but he never extended his appeal to the rest of the country, added Monteiro. “This is the closest and most bitterly fought election in Brazil’s history.” How can President Rousseff rebuild confidence in the Brazilian economy, once widely lauded as a key member of the bloc of emerging “BRIC” nations? Looking forward, Monteiro suggested that it is “most important” for Rousseff to show that her government is taking a more pro-business attitude, in order to gain support from multinational corporations.

“The immediate reaction [to her victory] was negative in the stock exchange” and in foreign exchange markets, because her opponent was “much more pro-business in his campaign.” However, Monteiro said he hopes that “she will somehow appoint a finance minister” who will be able to build bridges to the business community “and take Brazil forward.” In the months ahead, added Monteiro, Brazil-watchers should be looking at “who she will be surrounded by.” Who will be the new finance minister and the governor of the central bank? “When we think about the economy and markets, that’s what we should be looking at.” At the same time, Monteiro stressed that Rousseff’s social welfare and educational initiatives are “also very important” and enjoy widespread support. “These are areas where there is less controversy, and people recognize the good job that she has done.” While maintaining those programs, Rousseff nevertheless needs to tackle the challenges of slowing growth and rising inflation if she wants to gain the support of many voters who chose her opponent, Neves.

To achieve that goal, she needs to start by appointing senior officials “who can establish a dialogue with the business community.” Dilma Rousseff re-elected Brazilian president - YouTube Dilma Rousseff re-elected Brazilian president Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Oct 27, 2014 Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected president of Brazil, after securing more than 51% of votes in the closest election race in many years. An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote. In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be "a much better president than I have been until now". She faced protests last year against corruption, record spending on the football World Cup and poor services. Ms Rousseff, who has been in power since 2010, is popular with poor Brazilians thanks to her government's welfare programmes.

Political reform But the vote split Latin America's biggest country almost evenly in two, along lines of social class and geography. Ms Rousseff called on all Brazilians "to unite in favour of Brazil's future" and said she would seek political reform. "This president is open to dialogue. This is the top priority of my second mandate," she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia. She also thanked her supporters, especially her political mentor and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "I thank from the bottom of my heart our number one militant, President Lula." Her re-election for a second term extends the rule of her Workers Party (PT), which came to power in 2002 with President Lula. Analysis: Wyre Davies, BBC News, Rio de Janeiro This has been the tightest of contests but in re-electing Dilma Rousseff, Brazilians have opted for continuity, backing a system and a party that has brought economic growth and generous welfare programmes that have elevated tens of millions of Brazilians out of extreme poverty.

The centrist, business friendly candidate Aecio Neves had pushed Dilma Rousseff hard - his experience as a successful state governor persuading many Brazilians that he could modernize and rationalize what, in recent years, has been a struggling economy. Brazil looks and feels divided. Whereas Dilma Rousseff did well in the poorer northern states, her opponent took many of the wealthier and more developed southern parts of Brazil. The challenges facing Dilma Rousseff are huge. International markets are nervous about the high level of government intervention in the economy. Many of those Brazilians whose lives have improved in recent years want more - especially services including better health education and a reduction in Brazil's chronic levels of crime. Aecio Neves, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), admitted defeat in a speech to supporters in the southern city of Belo Horizonte. He thanked the "more than 50 million Brazilians'' who voted for him and said he had telephoned the re-elected president. "I...

wished her success in the administration of her next government, and I reaffirmed what I feel should be our greatest priority, to unite Brazil on the basis of an honourable project which dignifies all Brazilians," he said at the rally. Mr Neves was the governor of the southern swing-state of Minas Gerais for eight years. Both he and Ms Rousseff had made economic growth and lifting Brazilians out of poverty central to their election campaigns. The election came after weeks of intensive campaigning by the two candidates and a presidential race that took a tragic turn after Eduardo Campos, a main opposition candidate, was killed in a plane crash in August. His running mate, a renowned environmentalist, Marina Silva, was thrust into his place, vowing to become the South American country's first "poor, black" president. But she came third in the first round after Ms Rousseff and Mr Neves secured 41.5% and 33.5% of the vote respectively. As neither candidate got an absolute majority, the election went into a second round.

Category President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil Date of Birth: 14 December 1947 Birth Place: Belo Horizonte, Brazil Political Party: Workers' Party Arrival in Power: 1 January 2011 Religion: Roman Catholic Profession: Economist Biography: Dilma Rousseff was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1947. Dilma Rousseff is the current President of Brazil and the first female to hold this post in the history of Brazil. Dilma Rousseff studied Economics at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Before beginning her professional career and conducting her university studies, Dilma Rousseff was involved in left-wing resistance movements, against the military government of the 1960's, Dilma Rousseff was eventually arrested for her involvement in guerilla activities. She was released from prison in 1972, and eventually graduated from university in 1977. Following her graduation Dilma Rousseff served in several functions related to the field of economics and tied to the government of the province of Rio Grande do Sul.

Following this she would serve in several more prominent positions in the municipal and state levels, she served as the Secretary of Energy for the province of Rio Grande do Sul. In 2003 Dilma Rousseff was appointed as the Minister of Mines and Energy for Brazil by then president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. During her time in this position she is credited with expanding Brazil's electrical capacity as well as increasing access to electricity. She also implemented rules that required Petrobras to build it's drilling rigs domestically and other vessels, which created a new shipbuilding industry in Brazil and created tens of thousands of jobs. In 2005 she became the Chief of Staff to da Silva, a position she held until her bid to the presidency in 2010. Dilma Rousseff went on to win the presidential elections and became the first female President of Brazil on January 1st 2011. Dilma Rousseff was re-elected as Brazil's President in October 2014, defeating Aecio Neves in a second round runoff.

Thoughts & Comments Updated on: January 21st, 2015 Former President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Date of Birth: 27 October 1945 Birth Place: Caetes, Brazil Arrival in Power: 1 January 2003 Religion: Roman Catholic Profession: Metalworker, Politician, Union Worker Biography: Luiz Inacio da Silva was born in Caetes, Brazil, in 1945. Luiz Inacio da Silva was the 35th President of Brazil and held the post since 2003. Although he has little formal education, Luiz Inacio da Silva started working in factories when he was 14 years old and saw for himself the conditions of the working class. It is during this time that he became involved with trade unions. Following his time in factories and has a union leader, he joined politics in 1980, to form a the new left political party called the Workers' Party. Luiz Inacio da Silva participated in several political initiative, to make brazil's electoral system more open and fair.

Luiz Inacio da Silva ran for president in 1994 and 1998 and was defeated on both occasions. Luiz Inacio da Silva won the 2002 elections and the 2006 elections and his nearing the end of his last term, Brazil is set to obtain a new president at the end of 2010.

Question: Which 'BRIC' country re-elected female president Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party, 2014?
Answer: Brazil