Brazil's Rousseff: tortured guerrilla to first woman president
Brazil's Rousseff: tortured guerrilla to first woman president
AFP
September 29, 2014, 6:15 am
Brasilia (Brazil) (AFP) - Brazil's first female president, Dilma Rousseff, is seeking a second term next Sunday, the next step on a political journey that began when she was a Marxist guerrilla tortured under the military dictatorship.
Rousseff, the 66-year-old daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant businessman, was the handpicked successor of two-term predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, her Workers Party mentor.
She duly saw off center-right rival Jose Serra in the 2010 poll with 56 percent of votes in the runoff.
Upon taking office, Rousseff vowed to "honor the legacy" of charismatic former union leader Lula, who enjoyed huge popularity throughout his eight years in power.
Under Lula, the PT implemented huge welfare programs, lifting some 40 million people out of poverty, and his second term, in particular, was marked by strong economic growth.
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