Dilma Rousseff

Childhood and family profile Dilma Vana Rousseff was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, on 14 December 1947, to Bulgarian lawyer and entrepreneur Pedro Rousseff (born Petar Rusеv, , 1900–1962) and schoolteacher Dilma Jane da Silva (26 June 1924 – 13 July 2019). Her father was born in Gabrovo, in the Principality of Bulgaria, and was a friend of the Nobel Prize-nominated Bulgarian poet Elisaveta Bagryana. As an active member of the Bulgarian Communist Party, banned in 1924, Petar Rusev fled Bulgaria in 1929 to escape political persecution. He initially settled in France before arriving in Brazil in the 1930s, already widowed (he left behind his son Lyuben-Kamen, who died in 2007), but soon moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. He returned to Brazil several years later, settling in São Paulo, where he succeeded in business. Petar Rusev adapted his first name to Portuguese (Pedro) and the last to French (Rousseff). During a trip to Uberaba, he met Dilma Jane da Silva, a young schoolteacher born in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, and raised in Minas Gerais, where her parents were ranchers. The two married and settled in Belo Horizonte, where they had three children: Igor, Dilma Vana, and Zana Lúcia (who died in 1977). Igor Rousseff, Dilma's elder brother, is a lawyer. Rousseff was enrolled in preschool at the Colégio Izabela Hendrix and primary school at Colégio Nossa Senhora de Sion, a girls' boarding school run by nuns, who primarily taught in French. Her father died in 1962, leaving behind about fifteen properties. Rousseff joined the second group, which became the National Liberation Command (). According to , leader of Colina in 1968 who taught Marxism to Rousseff in high school, she chose armed struggle after reading Revolution inside the Revolution by Régis Debray, a French intellectual who had moved to Cuba and become a friend of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Heringer says that "the book inflamed everybody, including Dilma". In early 1969 the Minas Gerais branch of Colina had only a dozen militants, little money, and few weapons. Its activities boiled down to four bank robberies, some stolen cars and two bombings, with no casualties. On 14 January, after some arrests during a bank robbery, they gathered to debate what to do to release them from jail. At dawn, the police invaded the group's house and they responded by using a machine gun, which killed two policemen and wounded another. According to Maurício Lopes Lima, a former member of (OBAN) – a para-legal structure which included the intelligence and torture services of the Armed Forces—Rousseff was the primary leader of VAR Palmares, and he received reports calling her "one of the brains" of the revolution. Police commissioner Newton Fernandes, who investigated the clandestine organization in São Paulo and profiled dozens of their members, said that Rousseff was one of the principal masterminds. The attorney who prosecuted the organization called her "Joan of Arc of subversion", saying that she led strikes and advised bank robberies. She was also dubbed "the she-pope of subversion", a "political criminal" and a "female figure of sadly notable aspect". According to her former comrade and current colleague, Environment Minister Carlos Minc, her role in the group was sensationalized. "Because she is a very important person, they'll say anything about her." , who was also a VAR Palmares militant, denied Rousseff's role as head of the clandestine organization. Rousseff has sometimes been described as the mastermind of the theft of a safe belonging to former governor of São Paulo, Ademar de Barros. The action was carried out on 18 June 1969, in Rio de Janeiro, and netted 2.5 million U.S. dollars. It became the most spectacular and profitable action of the armed struggle. Testimonials and police reports indicated that Rousseff was responsible for managing the money from the robbery, paying the salaries of the militants, finding a shelter for the group, and buying a Volkswagen Beetle. Rousseff only remembers purchasing the car, and doubts that she was the one responsible for managing the money. In 1969, VAR Palmares allegedly planned the kidnapping of Antônio Delfim Netto, a symbol of the "Brazilian Miracle" and the most powerful civilian in the federal government at the time. This would have been carried out in December according to the book Os Carbonários, written by Alfredo Sirkis in 1981. Antonio Roberto Espinosa, former head of both VPR and VAR Palmares, was reported to have said that Rousseff was one of the five members of the organization's leadership aware of it. The kidnapping did not take place because the members of the organization were captured just weeks before. Rousseff emphatically denies that she was aware of the plan and doubts that anyone involved really remembers much about it. She also said that Espinosa fantasized about the event. Even with large amounts of money, the organization failed to maintain its unity. At a conference held in Teresópolis between August and September 1969, there was a major dispute between those who supported the armed struggle and those who advocated working with the masses. Rousseff was in the second group. While the first group split into the paramilitary VPR, led by Lamarca, the second—including Rousseff—continued as VAR Palmares. There was a dispute over the money and weapons. As Maria Luisa Belloque, a cellmate, said "Dilma was shocked even with car wiring." Some ex-military officers have dismissed Rousseff's account, saying that she could not have survived that extent of torture. Later, Rousseff denounced the torture she suffered in court proceedings, citing even the names of those who tortured her, such as Army Captain Benoni de Arruda Albernaz, mentioned by several other witnesses. Although she revealed the locations of some militants during torture interrogation, Rousseff managed to preserve the identities of Carlos Araújo (who would be arrested several months later) and Maria Celeste Martins. judges in 1970. Carlos Araújo was arrested on 12 August 1970. After Rousseff was captured, he had an affair with actress and fellow militant Bete Mendes. After his arrest, he met Rousseff on several occasions, during journeys regarding the military lawsuits both were being prosecuted for. For a few months they were even in the same prison in São Paulo, where during conjugal visits they reconciled, planning to resume married life after being released from jail. In December 2006, the Special Commission for Reparation of the Human Rights Office for the State of Rio de Janeiro approved a request for indemnification by Rousseff and eighteen other prisoners in law enforcement agencies of the São Paulo state government in the 1970s. In her request, a pivotal witness was Vânia Abrantes, who was in the same police car that transferred her from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro (Vânia was Araújo's girlfriend when he and Rousseff began to date). The record can be found on a far right-wing website which supports the regime. Life in Porto Alegre, 1972–1980 in Porto Alegre, in 2010 Rousseff left jail at the end of 1972. She was thinner and had acquired thyroid disease. She spent some time recovering with family in Minas Gerais, visited an aunt in São Paulo, then moved to Porto Alegre, where Carlos Araújo was finishing the last months of his sentence. She stayed in her in-laws' house, from which they could see the prison where Araújo was held. Rousseff frequently visited her partner, bringing him newspapers and political books disguised as novels. The Presídio da Ilha das Pedras Brancas was deactivated, and Araújo served the remainder of his sentence in the Presídio Central. Prominent lawyer Afrânio Araújo, Carlos' father, died in June 1974, prompting his friends to pressure the regime for the release of Carlos, which happened just a week later. She decided to attend a preparatory course in order to take the vestibular exam in economics at the Rio Grande do Sul Federal University. She was admitted to the university and graduated in 1977, this time not participating actively in the students' movement there. The year before, in March 1976, she gave birth to her only child, daughter Paula Rousseff Araújo. After graduation, she got her first paid job after serving her prison sentence as an intern at the Foundation of Economics and Statistics (), an organization linked to the government of Rio Grande do Sul. == Personal life ==

In 1968, Rousseff married journalist Cláudio Galeno de Magalhães Linhares, who introduced 20-year-old Rousseff to the underground resistance movement against the dictatorship. In the early 1970s, Rousseff separated from Galeno and started a relationship with Carlos Franklin Paixão de Araújo. She legally divorced Galeno in 1981. Rousseff and Araújo have a daughter named Paula Rousseff de Araújo born in 1976. Rousseff divorced Araújo in 2000. Rousseff is a fan and supporter of the Clube Atlético Mineiro soccer team from her hometown of Belo Horizonte. Paula Rousseff Paula Rousseff de Araújo, born on 26 March 1976, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, is the only daughter of Rousseff and her former husband, Carlos Araújo. Paula is a law graduate and holds the office of labor prosecutor in Porto Alegre. Paula Rousseff married business administrator Rafael Covolo in Porto Alegre on 18 April 2008. On 9 September 2010, Paula gave birth to Rousseff's first grandchild, a boy named Gabriel Rousseff Covolo, in the city of Porto Alegre, during the 2010 presidential campaign of her mother. After the last debate with four other candidates, on 30 September 2010, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was aired on national TV, Rousseff flew to Porto Alegre for the christening of Gabriel in the Cathedral of Our Lady Mother of God on 1 October 2010. Health issues At a press conference on 25 April 2009, Rousseff revealed that she was undergoing treatment to remove an early-stage axillar lymphoma, a cancer in the lymphatic system, which was detected in her left armpit during a routine mammogram. It was diagnosed as a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, an intermediate-grade type, but her chances of being cured were up to 90%. She had curative chemotherapy treatment for four months. In mid-May 2009, she was hospitalized in the Hospital Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo, with severe pains in her legs. The diagnosis was a myopathy, a muscle inflammation resulting from the cancer treatment. In early September that same year, she revealed she had completed her radiotherapy treatment, claiming to be cured, later confirmed by her doctors. After seven months of wearing a wig, Rousseff wore her natural dark brown hair at the 3rd Human Rights Program launch on 21 December 2009. She had announced in November that she would retire her wig as soon as her hair became more even. She said it was still "full of holes", which was why she "couldn't take [the wig] off there in Copenhagen, Denmark". She first publicly admitted to wearing a wig in May of that year, when she jokingly referred to it as a "basic little wig". == Political positions ==

from Nicolás Maduro at the Planalto Palace, 9 May 2013. Although Rousseff states that her political thinking has changed drastically – from Marxism to pragmatic capitalism – she remains proud of her radical roots. However, she was criticized by sectors of the Catholic Church in Brazil and other religious groups, due to her past support for the legalization of abortion. This was also a main target of criticism by José Serra's campaign as well as the newsmagazine , which emphasized Rousseff's past and current positions on its cover. The subject only faded away from the news after the information became public that José Serra's wife, Monica Serra, had reportedly had an abortion in her youth. and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents a heinous crime as singer Sérgio Reis, television presenter Xuxa, and Ideli Salvatti look on, 22 May 2014. When asked about the criminal prosecution against Flamengo goalkeeper Bruno Fernandes de Souza, accused of killing his former girlfriend Eliza Samudio, Rousseff said that she opposes the death penalty. According to her, "if it were effective, there would not be such crimes in the United States." She said, "Marriage is a religious issue. I, as an individual, would never say what a religion should or should not do. We have to respect them." As a member of the Workers' Party, a social-democratic party which opposes Third Way politics, Rousseff was expected to be against privatization and neoliberalism. The Nation, as an example of this rationale, described Rousseff's victory as a defeat for the Washington Consensus. Rousseff, however, has had an ambiguous stance on issues that involve privatization. She is, for instance, "in favor of granting to private enterprises the construction of new power plants and roads, should it be cheaper to do them through grants than through public works." Additionally, she favored the privatization of airports in order to prepare Brazil's infra-structure for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. She also pledged to deepen the social welfare network inaugurated by the Lula administration, saying that, under her rule, "Brazil will continue to grow, with social inclusion and mobility." == Political career ==

When the mandatory two-party system ended in the early 1980s, Rousseff participated, along with Carlos Araújo, in Leonel Brizola's efforts to restructure the Brazilian Labor Party (of social-democratic President João Goulart, overthrown by the 1964 coup). After the Supreme Electoral Court gave the name registry to the group linked to Ivete Vargas (Getúlio Vargas' niece), Rousseff and the group linked to Brizola founded the Democratic Labour Party (). Therefore, the electricity crisis at the end of the FHC administration affected millions of Brazilians, with the exception of those from the three southern states, where no rationing was imposed, as there was no drought. There was a voluntary energy saving, and Rousseff tried to obtain compensation from the federal government, as it was granted to other regions. The federal government did not grant it, and Rousseff had to compromise with the private sector. According to Pedro Parente, chief of staff during the Cardoso administration, "she was pragmatic, objective and showed that she had a fluid dialogue with the business sector." in November 2009. A close friend of Lula, Pinguelli was appointed as president of Eletrobrás, and found himself at odds with Rousseff on several occasions, considering an early resignation once. He was ironic about Rousseff's alleged mood swings, being quoted as saying that "this lady formats her disk every week." Pinguelli eventually left the federal government in 2004. Mauricio Tolmasquim, a member of the transition government which shared a vision of the energy sector similar to Rousseff's, was invited by her to be the executive secretary of the ministry. He stated that once they got to know each other better, Rousseff started shouting with him occasionally. "It's her way. It's not personal. And in five minutes everything is okay," he said. Sauer, who took over the gas and energy department of Petrobras, also clashed with the minister, who repulsed his ideas of a statist model. Sometimes the clashes between them were so serious that Lula's intervention was necessary. Sauer left the state oil company in 2007. Another one which had disagreements with the minister on energy issues was the former Congressman Luciano Zica. For him, "Dilma is the most democratic person in the world, as long as you agree 100% with her." The bids for the P-51 and P-52 platforms were then the first in the country to require a minimum domestic content. The requirement was heavily criticized, on the grounds that it would increase the costs of Petrobras, but Rousseff defended the country's ability to produce ships and platforms, stating that the nationalization rates of the platforms, which varied between 15% and 18% rose to more than 60% after the requirement. Lula acknowledged that, from the perspective of the company, the costs did in fact go higher, but that Petrobras should not only target the immediate costs, but also the strengthening of national science and technologies. In 2008, the shipbuilding industry as a whole employed 40 thousand people, compared to 500 people in the mid-90s, in part because of the nationalization requirement. Light for All program Rousseff proposed to accelerate the goals of universalizing the access to electricity, which had a deadline of 2015, suggesting that 1.4 million rural households would get electricity access by 2006. She argued that it was a social inclusion goal that should be a part of Fome Zero, (Zero Hunger) and that it was not possible to assume that such a program would provide a financial return. During the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, a similar program, called Luz no Campo (Rural Electrification), was created to encourage agribusiness providing the funding by the recipient. The goal of the program was to provide electricity to over a million households, but as of early 2003 only half of them had been electrified. According to Rousseff, the results of this program were higher in states where local governments subsidized it for the population. She defended, then, a program heavily subsidized by the federal government, which should not only subsidize, but cover the costs for the universalization of electricity. The subsidy, however, should be for the consumer, and not for the electric companies. Chief of Staff (2005–2010) at the White House, 2009. As Minister of Energy, Rousseff had the support of two key ministers of the Lula administration: Antonio Palocci and José Dirceu. After Dirceu resigned as Chief of the Presidential Staff due to his involvement in the so-called "Mensalão" scandal, instead of being weakened, Rousseff was chosen by Lula to be the new chief of staff. She took office on 21 June 2005, becoming the first female to assume the position. According to Gilberto Carvalho, the President's private secretary, Rousseff, caught the attention of Lula for her courage to face difficult situations and for her technical skills. Franklin Martins, another guerrilla fighter-turned-minister, said Lula was very impressed with Rousseff's management of the Ministry of Energy, where she prevented another blackout. "Lula realized that she kept things moving," he said. By choosing Rousseff, Lula also prevented the political dispute between Palocci and Dirceu to succeed him, while Rousseff did not have such ambition for being a new member of the Workers' Party, and not belonging to any party faction, she moved about well in all of them. Rousseff said to Carvalho that being appointed as chief of staff was a much bigger surprise for her than being appointed as Minister of Energy. After Rousseff took office, the U.S. Consulate General in São Paulo sent a long profile of her to the U.S. Department of State. It detailed several aspects of her life, talking about her past activity in guerrilla organizations, her tastes and habits, and professional characteristics, being described as a prestigious and detailed technician, with the reputation of a workaholic and a great ability to listen, but lacking political tact, turning directly to technicians rather than her superiors. == 2010 and 2014 presidential campaigns ==

National Convention. On 13 June 2010, after more than two years of widespread speculation, Rousseff launched her campaign as the official presidential candidate for the Workers' Party in the 2010 presidential election. At that time, former São Paulo State Governor José Serra, candidate for the center-right opposition bloc, had been at the top of the polls for over two years. With promises of maintaining Lula's popular policies, Rousseff was able to surpass Serra in all the polls by late July. In spite of maintaining a wide margin over him, she did not receive 50% of valid votes in the first round and had to face a run-off against Serra on 31 October, when she was elected with over 56% of the valid votes. Rousseff's coalition, For Brazil to keep on changing, was initially formed by nine political parties, which gave her the largest amount of time for advertisement on television. This was the first time that PT got more television time than its main rival, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). However, under Brazilian electoral law, television time must be equally allocated on the run-off. Rousseff's ads were noted for their professionalism and production quality, being rated as the best electoral program by 56% of voters. Rousseff's candidacy was also supported by notable international figures, such as Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro, First Secretary of the French Socialist Party Martine Aubry, and American filmmaker Oliver Stone, who recorded a message on her behalf. Singer Alcione, Portuguese Brazilian economist Maria da Conceição Tavares, and journalist Hildegard Angel (daughter of Zuzu Angel and sister of Stuart Angel) also recorded messages on Rousseff's behalf. On 15 October, Tom Morello posted a message on his Twitter account supporting her candidacy, which he said represented "the poor, the working class and the youth." in 2011 On 18 October 2010, Brazilian artists and intellectuals held an event in the Oi Casagrande theatre in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, to show their support to Rousseff's candidacy. Among them were Chico Buarque, Beth Carvalho, Alceu Valença, Elba Ramalho, Emir Sader, Oscar Niemeyer, Leonardo Boff, and Marilena Chaui. That same day, she received a letter of support by prominent members of the European Green Party, such as Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Dominique Voynet, Monica Frassoni, Philippe Lamberts, Noël Mamère, José Bové, and Yves Cochet. According to the letter, Serra represents "the worst in our society: gender bias, sexism and homophobia, along with the most shady and myopic economic interests." Rousseff won the presidency by an approximate margin of 56% to 44%, and took office on 1 January 2011, as the first woman president of the country. She became the third female head of government ever in the history of Brazil, and the first de jure female head of state since the death of Maria I, Queen of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in 1816. During her presidential campaign, Rousseff underwent a makeover, replacing glasses with contact lenses, undergoing plastic surgery and adopting a different hairstyle. On 26 October 2014, Rousseff was re-elected president of Brazil, after securing more than 51% of votes in the closest election race since 1989. An official count showed her rival, center-right candidate Aécio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote. ;Bulgarian reaction Georgi Parvanov in Sofia, October 2011 According to Bulgarian media, Bulgaria experienced "Dilma fever." The local media followed the presidential race in Brazil closely, interested in the election of a half-Bulgarian to rule over the world's 5th most populous nation and 7th largest economy. In November 2010, an exhibition was held in Gabrovo about Rousseff's origins. After Rousseff's election, Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov promptly invited her for an official visit to the country. During her inauguration, he reiterated the invitation. Since her inauguration, Rousseff has received 21 letters from Bulgarian citizens. On 4 October 2011, President Rousseff visited Bulgaria for the first time ever for a state visit as well as for an emotional back-to-the-roots visit to the homeland of her late emigrant father. She paid a visit to the grave of her Bulgarian half-brother, Lyuben-Kamen Rusev, whom she never met and who died in 2007 at the age of 78. == Presidency (2011–2016) ==

Inauguration of the president of Brazil, 1 January 2011. from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 1 January 2011. during the second inaugural parade, 1 January 2015. upon her arrival to the Planalto Palace in Brasília, 20 August 2015. Dilma Rousseff was inaugurated as President of Brazil on 1 January 2011. The event – which was organized by her transitional team, the Ministries of External Relations and Defense and the Presidency of the Republic – was awaited with some expectation, since she became the first woman ever to preside over the country. Important female figures in Brazilian history were honored with panels spread across the Monumental Axis. According to the military police of the Federal District, around 30,000 people attended. Until 21 December 2010, the publishing house of the Senate had printed 1,229 invitations for Rousseff's inauguration. The National Congress expected a total of 2,000 guests for the ceremony. Among them were José Sócrates, Juan Manuel Santos, Mauricio Funes, Alan García, José Mujica, Hugo Chávez, Álvaro Colom, Alpha Condé, Sebastián Piñera, Evo Morales Former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso also attended. The Ministry of Culture organized the cultural part of the event, having provided a budget of 1.5 million reais (around 800 thousand U.S. dollars) for it. The concerts continued from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. She was unable to name all members of her cabinet until that ceremony, as she had desired. Rousseff completed the appointment of all 37 members of her cabinet on 22 December 2010. Although she had projected that 30% of her cabinet would be composed of women, the females appointed eventually made up 24% of her cabinet. Rousseff's own Workers' Party (PT) comprised 43% of her cabinet, with 16 members, while 12 other offices were handed out to six out of ten political parties that formed her winning electoral coalition. The remaining 9 cabinet offices, among which were key offices such as the presidency of the Central Bank of Brazil, the Ministry of External Relations and the Ministry of the Environment, were handed out to non-partisan technical names. She has become the president which promoted the highest number of cabinet changes in the first six months of government. Rousseff named Celso Amorim to replace him. Popularity in New York, 21 September 2011 and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso with in EU–Brazil Summit in Brussels on 3 October 2011 on 9 April 2012 in Brasília, 25 October 2011 leaders in 2014 in 2015 , Uruguayan President José Mujica and Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2012 Rousseff maintained a majority approval rating throughout her first term. In late March 2013, her government was approved by 63% of Brazilians, while her personal approval rating was at 79%, a personal high. Rousseff was also cited as the preferential candidate for 58% of the voters in the 2014 presidential election, in which she was reelected. Rousseff's popularity is attributed to popular measures of her government, such as the reduction of the federal tax in the energy bill and the exemption of federal tax in the products of the consumer basket (meat, milk, beans, rice, flour, potatoes, tomatoes, bread, sugar, coffee powder, cooking oil, butter, bananas and apples). The lowering of the overnight rate conducted by the Central Bank of Brazil is also mentioned as a cause for Rousseff's high popularity. This has caused some to consider her "populist", a consideration shared by her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In early 2015, Rousseff's popularity began to decline and in February 2015, a month before the 2015 protests in Brazil began, Rousseff's approval rating dropped 19 points to 23% with 44% disapproving of her. In July of the same year, her approval rating reached a new low (9%), while her disapproval rating reached 64%. Controversies Petrobras scandal against the government of President Rousseff march en route to the National Congress in Brasília, 13 March 2016. In 2013 Jonathan Taylor blew the whistle on SBM Offshore NV, the Dutch company responsible for paying hundreds of millions of dollars to senior Petrobras personnel in bribes to win offshore oil and gas-related contracts, while Rousseff chaired the national oil and gas company. In March and April 2015 millions of protesters took to the streets during the 2015 protests in Brazil against Rousseff's alleged involvement in the Petrobras scandal which involved kickbacks and corruption. When allegations surfaced that graft occurred while President Rousseff was a member of the board of directors of Petrobras, between 2003 and 2010, Brazilians became very upset with the government and called for Rousseff's impeachment. No direct evidence implicating Rousseff in the scheme has been made public, and she denies having any prior knowledge of it. Amazon Basin hydroelectric dams Rousseff's administration pushed to complete a number of hydroelectric dam projects in the Amazon River Basin, despite appeals from local residents of areas that would be affected, including indigenous tribes, and pressure from both domestic and international groups. Opposition to the dam projects, especially the Belo Monte Dam project, was driven by environmental, economic and human rights concerns, for both the people to be displaced and the workers brought in from other parts of Brazil to build the dams. Xingu (Kayapo) Chief Raoni Metuktire and members of other tribes affected by hydroelectric dam projects proposed or already under construction; Brazilian and international NGOs, including Greenpeace, Amazon Watch and International Rivers and international celebrities including director James Cameron, actress Sigourney Weaver, and musician Sting all called for a halt to Amazon Basin hydroelectric projects. Working conditions for laborers on the projects were harsh, while pay was low despite a high cost of living at the remote construction sites. This led to strikes and other worker actions at several hydroelectric projects. In the spring of 2012, 17,000 workers at the Jirau Dam site went on strike for over three weeks, and later some began looting company stores, setting fire to dam structures, and destroying worker housing. Military troops eventually deployed to quell the rioting and end the strike. Meanwhile, multiple courts, offices and state governments continue to litigate to halt dam projects; the status of the Belo Monte project was reversed so many times via injunctions and appeals that only the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court remained – along with, theoretically, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH), the judicial body of the Organization of American States (OAS), which also called on Brazil to halt Belo Monte and other projects accused of human rights violations. However, President Rousseff had already recalled the Brazilian ambassador to the OAS, and furthermore withheld Brazil's annual contribution to the CIDH, approximately US$800,000. LGBT controversies Rousseff was less popular with Brazilian LGBT social movements than expected from a left-wing president, and an often cited reason is that there are many instances in the government's balance of power where disagreements with the right-wing factions may have side effects. For example, although Brazil is a secular state and church and state are separated, religion is openly discussed and involved in politics. The best example is the Evangelical Caucus. The Brazilian Supreme Federal Court ruled 10–0 in May 2011, with one abstention, to legalise same-sex civil unions (see also same-sex marriage in Brazil). The same month, however, a spokesperson for President Dilma Rousseff announced that she had suspended distribution of sex education videos through the ministries of health and education, saying that "anti-homophobia kits", as they are known, were "inappropriate for children" and did not offer an objective view of homosexuality. Public service strikes From 25 May 2012, Rousseff's government faced a number of strikes by public employees, especially university professors. The strike left millions of students without classes for months. According to O Globo, a Rio de Janeiro newspaper, she believes private sector jobs should be prioritized by her government's policies. Status of domestic workers In 2013, the government revised the status of domestic workers. The law now imposes a maximum working time of 44 hours per week, the payment of overtime in case of overtime, a minimum wage, the possibility of taking breaks, health coverage and makes redundancy payments compulsory. International recognition in New York City, 21 September 2011. Rousseff was ranked fourth in Forbes 2014 list of the most powerful women in the world, and the second most powerful in 2013. In 2015 she was the 7th, and in 2016 she was no longer in the list. In August 2011, Rousseff was included in the Forbes list of the most powerful women in the world, at the 3rd position, behind Merkel and U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton. In October 2010, she was included in the Forbes list of the most powerful people in the world, at the 16th position. She was the third highest placed woman on the list, after Angela Merkel and Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress. On 20 September, she received a Woodrow Wilson Public Service Award at the Pierre Hotel in New York City, a distinction which was also given to her predecessor in 2009. On the following day, she became the first woman to open a session of the United Nations General Assembly. Rousseff was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine on 26 September 2011. Impeachment On 2 December 2015, Eduardo Cunha, president of the Chamber of Deputies, accepted a petition for Rousseff's impeachment. A special committee held hearings and recommended that the full Chamber authorize presenting the charges to the Senate. On 17 April 2016, the lower house voted by the required majority of two-thirds of its members to present the impeachment petition to the Senate, and did so on 18 April 2016. A Senate special committee concluded in a report that the accusation justified an impeachment trial and recommended an impeachment trial. On 12 May 2016, the Senate began the impeachment trial. Rousseff was notified and under the Constitution of Brazil automatically suspended from the presidency pending a final decision of the Senate. File:01062016- 89A3476-Editar (27244602030).jpg|Suspended president Rousseff during an interview with Al Jazeera at the Alvorada Palace, 1 June 2016. File:Declaração a imprensa após comunicado do Senado Federal (29080019100).jpg|alt=The former president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, surrounded by supporters, giving a speech|Rousseff delivering her farewell address after being removed from office by the Senate, 31 August 2016. ==Post-presidency==

On 5 August 2018, the Workers' Party convention in Minas Gerais officialized Rousseff as a Senate candidate, representing the state, in the 2018 elections. Rousseff was an interviewee for the 2019 documentary The Edge of Democracy. On 24 March 2023, Rousseff was elected as the president of the BRICS-led New Development Bank. Electoral history == See also ==