REPERCUSSÃO DA POSSE DA PRESIDENTA DILMA ROUSSEFF NA MÍDIA INTERNACIONAL

Rousseff becomes first woman to lead Brazil Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Vice President Michel Temer walk up the ramp to Planalto Palace after bidding farewell to outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia on Saturday. Dilma Rousseff became Brazil’s first female president on Saturday after promising to build on an unprecedented run of economic success achieved by her popular predecessor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Thousands of admirers braved a driving rain and cheered as Rousseff rode to her inauguration in a 1953 Rolls Royce flanked by an all-female security detail. The former Marxist guerrilla, who evolved over the years into a pragmatic civil servant with a professed obsession for reducing poverty, smiled broadly and clapped along with spectators as she was sworn in before the Congress. “Many things have improved in Brazil, but this is just the beginning of a new era,” Rousseff, wearing an all-white suit, told Congress. “My promise is ... to honor women, to protect the most fragile, and to govern for all.” Rousseff, 63, inherits a booming economy that would make most of the rest of the world green with envy. More than 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty during Lula’s eight years in office, thanks largely to his social welfare policies and stable economic management that made Brazil a darling among Wall Street investors. The coming decade also looks bright, with massive, newly discovered offshore oil reserves due to be exploited and the World Cup and Olympics to be hosted here. Yet Rousseff also faces a long list of daunting challenges that Lula failed to tackle, including an overvalued currency that is hurting industry, rampant public spending that is fueling inflation, and notorious bureaucracy that stifles investment and discourages innovation. Perhaps the biggest task will be living up to the example set by Lula, a former metalworkers’ union leader who leaves office with an approval rating of 87 percent and near folk-hero status -- especially among the poor. “I’m here to thank Lula for all he’s done. If Dilma can do half of that I’ll be happy,” said Izabel Rosales Figuereido, who traveled from the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul to attend Rousseff’s inauguration. Chavez and Clinton shake hands President Hugo Chavez and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shook hands and chatted briefly on Saturday in a rare cordial encounter amid a diplomatic dispute that has left Venezuela and the United States without ambassadors in each other’s capitals. The handshake came as leaders were milling about at the inauguration of new Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. It was unclear what Chavez and Clinton discussed. Chavez later described the interaction as a pleasant one, though he did not give much detail. “We greeted each other,” he told reporters at the Brasilia airport. “She had a very spontaneous smile and I greeted her with the same effusiveness.” In the past week, their governments have shown firmly entrenched stances as the United States revoked the Venezuelan ambassador’s visa in response to Chavez’s refusal to accept the chosen US envoy. “They thought we were going to back down. Anything negative that happens will be the responsibility of the United States,” veteran Venezuelan diplomat Roy Chaderton told the Caracas-based television channel Telesur on Thursday. Chaderton, a close Chavez ally and former foreign minister, said the Venezuelan government was considering its next steps. Chavez has skipped opportunities to respond during the past few days, saying nothing about the US government’s decision to revoke the visa of Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez. President Barack Obama’s administration took that step in response to Chavez’s rejection of Larry Palmer, who has been awaiting Senate confirmation. It was unclear what concrete effects those actions could have on relations, or to what extent the encounter between Chavez and Clinton could help ease the tensions. Clinton did not respond to questions as she walked into a cocktail reception for Rousseff. Caracas AP

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