"Re-election is a vote of hope", says Brazil President Rousseff
- 10 years ago
Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected president of Brazil, winning by a narrow margin.
With 51.6 percent of the vote, she now faces an uphill battle of reinvigorating a stagnant economy, improving public services and pushing reforms through a divided congress.
Rousseff recognised the challenge saying, “A re-election vote is a vote of hope, especially for improving the actions of those in power. I know that is what the people say when they re-elect a leader.”
The left-leaning president did well in poorer parts of the country where her welfare policies have lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty, but left a large whole in the budget.
One man who was celebrating Rousseff’s win said, “economic crises do not depend only on international banking. Maybe the economy is not growing that much but Brazilians have jobs, and a better quality of life.”
Business-friendly opposition candidate Aecio Neves gave Rousseff a run for her money in a tight run race, winning 48 percent of the vote. He conceded defeat saying, “I congratulated the re-elected president (Dilma Rousseff) by phone and I wished her success leading the country in her next government.”
Our correspondent at Rousseff’s party headquarters in Brasilia reports that, “the town has been painted red (the colour of Rousseff’s Worker’s party). Rousseff gets a second term, and her Worker’s Party extends its rule to a fourth consecutive term in power.”
With 51.6 percent of the vote, she now faces an uphill battle of reinvigorating a stagnant economy, improving public services and pushing reforms through a divided congress.
Rousseff recognised the challenge saying, “A re-election vote is a vote of hope, especially for improving the actions of those in power. I know that is what the people say when they re-elect a leader.”
The left-leaning president did well in poorer parts of the country where her welfare policies have lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty, but left a large whole in the budget.
One man who was celebrating Rousseff’s win said, “economic crises do not depend only on international banking. Maybe the economy is not growing that much but Brazilians have jobs, and a better quality of life.”
Business-friendly opposition candidate Aecio Neves gave Rousseff a run for her money in a tight run race, winning 48 percent of the vote. He conceded defeat saying, “I congratulated the re-elected president (Dilma Rousseff) by phone and I wished her success leading the country in her next government.”
Our correspondent at Rousseff’s party headquarters in Brasilia reports that, “the town has been painted red (the colour of Rousseff’s Worker’s party). Rousseff gets a second term, and her Worker’s Party extends its rule to a fourth consecutive term in power.”