Woman of Bulgarian Descent Closer to Becoming Brazil's President

Brazilian incumbent Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff (L) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greet their supporters during the IV National Congress of the Workers' Party. Photo by BGNES

The candidate of the ruling Brazilian Workers Party, Dilma Rousseff, has real chance to win the October elections, a recent poll shows.

According to the results, Russeff is 10 points ahead of her main opponent and opposition rival from the party of the Social Democrats, Jose Serra, the current Governor of the Eastern province of São Paolo.

The poll of the Sensus agency shows the nominee of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva can count on nearly 42% support while Serra has 32%. The third ranking is held by the candidate of the Greens party, Marina Silva, but she has only 8.5%.

The poll has been conducted between July 31 and August 2 and has a margin of error of 2%. It confirms earlier results showing a trend of growing chances for Rousseff. The previous one gave her 39%.

Rousseff’s unanimous nomination was made in February this year, during the 4th Congress of the Party in the presence of da Silva and several of his ministers. She says she never imagined she would face such challenge in her life, but added she has confidence in her own abilities.

Rousseff is of Bulgarian origin. She was born in Brazil on December 18, 1947. The daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant lawyer and a Brazilian mother, Rousseff was raised in an upper-middle class household in the Southeastern city of Belo Horizonte. She has a degree in economics.

Rousseff has been da Silva’s Chief of Staff since 2005 while the position is considered equal to the one of a Prime Minister since Brazil doesn’t have a Premier.

Rousseff was promoted as Chief of Staff after her predecessor resigned amidst accusations of vote buying. At the time she was Brazil’s Energy Minister.

Rousseff quickly proved her leadership abilities; she is credited of helping the President to carry out his social programs for assistance to the poor along with providing effective control over infrastructure projects for billions of USD.

In the beginning of 2009, Rousseff publicly admitted doctors had removed a cancerous tumor from her chest. She began chemotherapy for lymphoma and in the fall announced the cancer was gone.

Da Silva already served two terms in office and cannot be reelected.

Rousseff is running on promises for more flexible labor market and labor unions’ laws along with a plan to reform the retirement system, and the pay scales such as introducing bonuses based on performance.

During the Rio de Janeiro carnival Rousseff appeared in public in the company of pop diva Madonna and her family. In another effort to gain popularity, she underwent several plastic surgeries, and lost weight and began wearing contact lenses, instead of glasses, according to a France Press report.

Dilma Rousseff, called the Iron Lady, is known for her strong will and the habit to openly scorn the Brazilian ministers. She belongs to the generation of leftist radicals during the turbulent 1960s, when Brazil was ruled by a military government. A committed socialist, she joined an armed militant force after the 1964 coup d’état against President João Goulart. The military dictatorship lasted until 1985 when Tancredo Neves was democratically elected president.

Her alleged participation in the 1965 armed robbery of a São Paulo governor’s safe has been highly controversial in Brazil. Although she denies ever participating in an armed attack, the Brazilian press has repeatedly reported her involvement in the now infamous robbery.

Her radical politics saw her arrested in 1970 by the military authorities. She was then held captive for three years and allegedly tortured with electrical shocks. Rousseff says she doesn’t regret her militant past.

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