Dilma Rousseff Elected Brazilian President

Press TV, Mon Nov 1, 2010 12:54AM

Dilma Rousseff, presidential candidate for the governing Workers' Party, greets supporters as she leaves a polling station after voting in Brazil's presidential election runoff in Porto Alegre on Sunday, Oct. 31. Dilma Rousseff has been elected as Brazil's first female president, succeeding her mentor, outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Announcing the runoff results on Sunday, Supreme Electoral Tribunal Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said Rousseff had garnered 56 percent of the 95 percent of the ballots counted to beat her rival, former Sao Paulo state governor Jose Serra.

Her bid for the presidency was backed by the outgoing president.

Rousseff received 47 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, falling just short of the 50 percent plus one vote required to avoid a runoff.

Serra got 33 percent of the vote in the first round.

The 62-year-old grandmother, who was jailed in the 1970s for guerrilla activities, will take over as president on January 1, 2011.

Lula, 65, has completed the maximum two consecutive terms permitted by law in Latin America's biggest country. He is retiring with a popularity rating above 80 percent and a high global profile.

Brazil's media have nicknamed Rousseff the "Iron Lady," comparing her to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Rousseff has vowed to maintain Lula's policies, which over the past eight years have brought prosperity and financial stability to Brazil and lifted 29 million people out of poverty.

FTP/MGH/HGL

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