Dilma Rousseff

By Gabriel Elizondo in Americas on March 24th, 2011
Celebration after the nuclear accord between Brazil, Turkey and Iran was signed last year. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/PR

Iran and Brazil. My, oh, my.

By Gabriel Elizondo in Americas on March 20th, 2011

The banner headline in Rio de Janeiro’s O Globo newspaper says it all: “From Brazil, Obama Orders Attack on Libya.” 

That headline won't win any awards for creativity, but it surely captures the stark essence of the moment. 

Obama’s first-ever trip to South America has been historic alright, but not for the reasons initially expected. All the best intended plans for his journey here were thrown off-track only a few hours after landing in Brasilia yesterday when the US-led airstrikes on Libya began.

Obama is in Rio de Janeiro today. The president and his advisors now face a delicate balancing act the next few days as he continues his South American tour: Juggling the initial phases of the attack on Libya while carrying on with business today in Rio, tomorrow in Chile, and then El Salvador - the final leg of his trip.

By Gabriel Elizondo in Americas on November 16th, 2010
Photo: AFP

The foremost headline from Brazil after the last presidential election, which concluded October 31, was that South America’s largest democracy selected its first female president, Dilma Rousseff.

The first of anything is often good enough to make a story. But the first woman president…of Brazil…equals an obvious lead to a story. 

But there was another aspect of the last presidential cycle here in Brazil that was also very different and novel but which received much less attention: The role of social media vis-à-vis the Brazilian media establishment.

By Gabriel Elizondo in Americas on September 29th, 2010
Photo by Reuters

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won’t be on the ballot on Sunday when 136 million Brazilians cast a vote for president, but his famous Lula name will be – it just won’t be the president himself.

Meet Luiz da Silva. Not the president. But the candidate for the federal deputy from Lula’s Workers Party.

Not only is his name almost identical to that of the Brazilian president, but he even has the same thick beard and portly stature. His deep, scratchy voice is almost identical too. And he is even missing part of a finger just like President Lula da Silva.

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Luiz 'Lula' da Silva, candidate for congress, and the man who looks a lot like the popular Brazilian president. Photo: Tatiana Polastri/Al Jazeera.

By Gabriel Elizondo in Americas on August 28th, 2010

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A campaign poster in Brasilia shows how strongly Dilma Rousseff is linking her campaign with the legacy of Pres. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Photo: Maria Elena Romero/Al Jazeera.

 

Brazil is leaning heavily towards electing the country's first female president.

Dilma Rousseff has never been elected to public office, but the polls indicate her first such position could be the most important one in Brazil: President. Mrs President.

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