Dilma Rousseff, a former left wing guerrilla turned economist takes over for outgoing President Lula da Silva who leaves office with an 80% approval rating. Brazil enjoyed an economic growth rate of 7.6 per cent in 2010, and recently discovered oil fields that may allow it to enter the export market.
Lula da Silva governed on a platform of defending the common worker, lifting 20 million Brazilians out of poverty, and raised the minimum wage all while growing the economy. Rousseff was a key advisor on his economic policies.
Rousseff who became minister of energy holds the same view as this blog, that energy is an essential service, a “common good”, according to Greg Grandin, professor of Latin American history at New York University.
