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After winning the presidential election in Brazil, Dilma Rousseff will be the country's first female president -- and part of the ever-growing group of lady heads of state, which includes former Philippine president Corazon Aquino; Finland's current president, Tarja Halonen; and Costa Rica's newest leader, Laura Chinchilla. Hello, America? But in the meantime, more on Rousseff.
"I want to state my first commitment after the elections: to honor Brazil's women so that today's unprecedented result becomes a normal event," 62-year-old Rousseff said in a speech soon after hearing about her win on Sunday. "I would very much like that parents look into their daughters' eyes and say, 'Yes, women can.'"
Before running for president, Rousseff held many powerful political positions, including secretary of energy, which later turned into minister of energy, where she was credited with heading up the "Luz Para Todos" ("Light for All") program -- making sure that electricity would be in over a million Brazilian homes.
She was then named chief of staff to the outgoing and extremely popular Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (known to everyone as Lula). Sharing the same vision for the economic and social improvement of Brazil, Lula handpicked and fully backed Rousseff to be the presidential candidate for the Workers Party.
Keep reading for more on her flip-flopping position on abortion and super-secret past as a guerrilla fighter ...
Even though Rousseff is now seen as a role model for women, her "iron lady" persona -- as well as her conservative stances on certain issues (like abortion) -- has placed her under fire. The new president-elect defended abortion rights earlier in her campaign, then started losing the support of religious groups. After sniffing a potential loss of votes, Rousseff retracted her earlier statements. "My position is against abortion, which is violence against women," she said during a meeting with Catholic leaders. "No woman is in favor of abortion."
And there's the fact that she's a former guerrilla fighter.
Born to a school-teaching mother and Bulgarian father who was a lawyer, Rousseff went to an all-girls private school in her younger years. However, once she hit her teens, she became aware of the military regime in Brazil and traded her ballerina dreams to fight for her country's well-being. She joined the left-wing armed resistance in the '60s. Being part of a guerrilla organization forced her to go underground and take on various aliases in order to keep herself and her family safe.
A ballerina/spy president? Now that we can get behind.
Although she's owned up to her guerrilla past, Rousseff, now 62, makes it known that she didn't fire weapons because of her poor eyesight. "My involvement was just political," she said in a 2008 TV interview. "I used to have more than a ninth or 10th degree of myopia."
But being involved made her a fugitive in the military government's eyes. Rousseff was arrested in 1970 and subjected to rounds of torture that included being hung in a "parrot's perch" and, well, electrocution to make her sing. "They gave me electrical shocks, a lot of electrical shocks," she said in another interview. "I began to hemorrhage, but I withstood. I wouldn't even tell them where I lived."
After her release in 1972, Rousseff went to school for economics and jumped into a career that has led to her now being one of the world's most influential and powerful women.
Who do you think would win in an arm-wrestling competition? Her or Sarah Palin?
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Wednesday 03 November
By Brazilian with an Opinion
I've seen a lot of political change in Brazil, and I closely follow its politics even though I'm now living abroad. Although I salute the praise to women taking charge, that "Yes we can!" mentality, I feel like the Dilma isn't the spokesperson for this great achievement. Don't get me wrong, this is a huge achievement for women in politics - Dilma being president of such a huge economy really shows that women have what it takes to become world leaders. That being said, let's not let the excitement over the first Brazilian female president overshadow some realities surrounding her.
Dilma changed her position on abortion in order to win votes. Cheap move. Evangelicals comprise the largest population of the voters in Brazil, and manipulating her position on abortion was the key to get pastors to preach to their congregations, "Hey, vote for Dilma! She changed her mind on abortion, she's a believer too!" This healthy dose of manipulation doesn't set the tone for the open, honest government, that a democracy preaches.
Another point of interest: although Dilma has been married in the past, and is even a grandmother now, a woman recently came out and revealed to be Dilma's long-term partner. Our newly-elected President, when interviewed about this, refused to talk. I find it interesting that the President won't discuss her sexuality. Are we not in 2010, where those issues shouldn't be taboo anymore? If our own president won't stand up and admit her sexual orientation, how will that reflect on gay rights movements in Brazil? Will they ever go forward? Food for thought.
And some additional information, which many Americans might not know about: voting is MANDATORY is Brazil after the age of 18. That means that everyone - rich, poor, educated, ignorant - they all have a say in their government. I believe in democracy, but I also believe that forcing people to vote takes away from the nature of democracy that allows people to CHOOSE their leaders, and not fall victim to this system of tallying votes. What ends up happening is that many of the poorer folks, who didn't complete middle school or high school, go to the polls and vote for whoever made an appearance in their hometown. The Labor Party (Dilma's crew) is well-known for making these appearances, throwing rallies, telling people all sorts of stories about how they'll be given more money from the government, how they'll be lifted out of poverty and into a better way of life. Sounds great, I'd love to be a part of that money-making machine too. Except I did my research, and I know that there is no money for any of this - WE'RE IN DEBT! Most of these uneducated voters don't know enough to make a decision, and don't care - they just want to vote so they won't have to pay the fine (oh yeah, there's a fine if you don't vote) they can't afford. Typical case of the blind following the blind.
Uneducated voters + conservative believers + manipulative campaigning = Dilma for President.
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Thursday 11 November
By ashoke kumar halder
it is a great job which you have done. thanks a lot and congratulation.
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Wednesday 17 November
By Monalisa
She is a bitch and will ruin our Brazil!
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Monday 21 March
By Jaruj Kazok
While I admire Brazil as a country, and I am quite positive how late in the 20th century they gave statehood to some remote regions to boost the economy of those regions. For example Tocantins achieved statehood only in 1988 and positive impact was felt through this region. However I am bit puzzled by the names some Brazilian states have; i.e. Para, Paraiba, Parana- 3 states geographicaly quite separated bearing almost the same name. Then Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul. So I suggest, that if in future Some big Brazilian state, like Amazonas or Para split in geographicaly smaller states, they will have more wisdom to name their new states. Perhaps by former Brazilian presidents, like Vargas, Kubitschek, Goulart, Cardoso, Da Silva and yes Rouseff. However this is not only Brazilian problem but generally problem of all countries of "new world" USA= Kansas, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota,New Mexico, North Carolina, SOuth Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Australia= New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and also New Zealand. What about Old South Wales,Old Mexico, Old Zealand? Shouldn't they object that their name was used to name another geographic entity? Also how are citizen of those various states called like someone from Massachussets- is he Massachussetsan? Or from Conectitut- Conectitutean? and so on
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