How Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s ‘iron lady’, transformed from fearless guerilla fighter to symbol of graft and corruption
There is vast anger across Latin America’s biggest country over deep recession, corruption and the government’s inability to deal with Congress.
When she was being tortured under Brazil’s military dictatorship, Dilma Rousseff could never have imagined becoming the country’s first female president. But four decades on from those dark days in 1970, when Rousseff belonged to a violent Marxist underground group, she did indeed rise to the top – only to face the prospect of impeachment less than a year into her second term.
Proceedings launched last year head to a crucial first vote this weekend with the lower house of Congress set to decide whether to send her to trial in the Senate.
Brazil’s 68-year-old “iron lady” has put up a fight, trying to repair a coalition left in tatters by the defection of the country’s largest party, the PMDB.
I have come up against hugely difficult situations in my life, including attacks which took me to the limit physically
The impeachment charges centre on her government’s allegedly illegal juggling of accounts to cover budget holes leading up to her re-election in 2014. But momentum is also driven by anger across Latin America’s biggest country and economy over deep recession, corruption and the government’s inability to deal with Congress.
Whether that’s fair or not, Rousseff has already been condemned by public opinion. Her government’s popularity has plummeted to around 10 per cent since her narrow re-election win against business-world favourite Aecio Neves.
Some critics attack Rousseff as lacking charisma. Others go further, calling her the classic accidental president, a politician who doesn’t like politicking. But as Rousseff herself has pointed out, torture steeled her for tough times.
“I have come up against hugely difficult situations in my life, including attacks which took me to the limit physically,” she said. “Nothing knocked me off my stride.”