Between shouts of “Dilma, Dilma!” she was presented as “the brave heart” of the left. At a recent event in the city of Porto Alegre, in the south of the country, she sat in the front row, next to the candidate Lula and his wife, Janja. Today, she is one of the personalities most cheered by followers of the Workers’ Party. Rousseff was considered a technocrat without great charisma when she won the presidency. The journalist Mauricio Savarese – who interviewed her three times for his book, The Fall of Dilma, – highlights her loyalty: “I always wanted to know if she had any criticism of Lula but, if she does, she keeps it to those who are very close to her.”

She has maintained a close relationship with Lula. More informationīrazil election: Lula maintains lead over Bolsonaro in final stretch to voteĭespite her exile from the halls of power, Rousseff has never totally disappeared from the political scene. Two years later, voters still hadn’t forgiven her: she lost a Senate race against a virtually unknown rival. She was also tied to the state-run energy firm Petrobras, which was involved in contract-fixing and bribery.

In 2016, three-quarters of the Senate voted in favor of condemning her for allegedly cooking the government’s books to hide Brazil’s deficit problem. After all, her approval rating fell to an abysmal 8% during her second term, thanks to a recession and allegations of corruption against senior members of her party. While Rousseff has played a minor role in the 2022 campaign, the return of the Workers’ Party to power would imply a form of rehabilitation for Brazil’s first female president.Īt the beginning of the campaign, analysts predicted that Lula would keep Rousseff on the sidelines. He is currently seeking the presidency again. However, she also enjoys the respect of her political godfather, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – popularly known as “Lula” – who served as president from 2003 until 2011. Her administration (2011-16) was associated with deficits and corruption – it ended with her impeachment. Victor Moriyama (Bloomberg)įor the Brazilian left, former president Dilma Rousseff is a complicated figure. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, during a rally in August.

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