Former President Rousseff with Lula after the inauguration ceremony for his third term January 1 in Brasilia.Roberto Stuckert (RR SS)
The first and only female president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, 75 years old, was elected this Friday to head the so-called bank of the BRICS, the bloc of emerging countries. An appointment that culminates the Brazilian’s gradual political rehabilitation seven years after her sacking in an impeachment trial that her mentor, current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, still regards as a “coup” to oust progressives from power. With this position, which he came to at the suggestion of Lula, the President has achieved two goals: give him a political revival and keep him out, in Shanghai (China), where the New Development Bank is based, and thus blur the bad memory he left behind, his economic policies.
Rousseff’s appointment comes on the same day that President Lula had to postpone his crucial official visit to China by a day because of mild pneumonia; After a mid-morning rest, he plans to meet a dozen ministers at his residence. Also this Friday, former President Jair Bolsonaro returned the precious Saudi jewels he had kept at the end of his term to the Brazilian authorities.
On March 8th, Lula hosted a great event in Brasilia to celebrate International Women’s Day. There were the eleven ministers, the First Lady and ex-President Rousseff. The latter was undoubtedly the most applauded. The guests chanted his name. That has been the trend for the past few months, since the election campaign, when the excitement sparked by the presence of the ousted president prompted Lula and the Workers’ Party (PT) to give her more attention and recognition. For business class and many ordinary Brazilians, Rousseff is still synonymous with bad economic decisions that plunged Brazil into recession.
The New Development Bank was founded in 2014 by Brazil under President Rousseff together with the other BRICS countries (Russia, India, China and South Africa). It is dedicated to financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the member countries.
With the presidency in this term now held by Brazil, Lula made a smart move: He brought home the Bolsonaro-appointed president and replaced him with the veteran PT politician, who is an economist. The plan was for Rousseff to use Lula’s official visit to China to go to Shanghai to take office. The trip, vital for Brazil economically and politically, now depends on the president’s mild case of pneumonia. The departure planned for this Saturday has been delayed by one day, but the attending doctor has ruled out that his condition will result in the cancellation of the trip. Lula is 77 years old and boasts that she does gymnastics at dawn every day.
His predecessor Bolsonaro this Friday returned the jewels given to him by the Saudi royal family and some weapons that were a gift from the United Arab Emirates and that the Court of Auditors was asking for. Since the former President remains in the United States, the person responsible for the delivery was one of his attorneys. The lot includes a watch, pen, cufflinks, ring and rosary. A second shipment of women’s jewelery was confiscated and is being held at customs. Bolsonaro has announced a new date for his return to Brazil, March 30, the previous ones have not been respected.
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Rousseff was fired by Congress in 2016 over accounting irregularities — a case filed during the last election campaign — after she lost the support of pro-government partners. Two years earlier she had been re-elected by the Minimum amid a tremendous wave of popular discontent. A process that she felt included a certain dose of misogyny.
Rousseff, born in Belo Horizonte, was a guerrilla during the dictatorship, although she never fired. Imprisoned, tortured. The military doesn’t forgive him for creating the truth commission in 2011, which counted the victims and gave the perpetrators’ first and last names, even though he didn’t punish them. When the impeachment vote was taken, Bolsonaro was an MP with a long political career, known for his provocations and defending the interests of the troops. The former army captain voted to depose, dedicating his vote to the most notorious torturer of the leadership years.
The financial institution highlighted in a statement that during her presidency, Rousseff expanded social programs created by Lula, marking “one of the most intense poverty reduction processes in the country and Brazil’s exit from the UN hunger map.”
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