BRASILIA – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff began her first full day in office on Sunday after pledging to build on the policies of her hugely popular predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The 63-year-old divorced grandmother, who was Lula’s former cabinet chief, assumed the presidency Saturday in a carefully staged ceremony under at times rainy skies. Her Sunday’s agenda includes meetings with Prince Felipe of Asturias, the heir to the Spanish throne, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Later, she plans to confer with her finance and foreign ministers. During Saturday’s inauguration ceremony, Rousseff received from Lula the green-and-gold official sash and gave her first speech to the nation. “I will look after the most vulnerable. I will govern for all Brazilians,” she said in the televised address from the palace’s balcony.
Lula himself pointedly left her alone in the spotlight, save for a brief heartfelt hug. Required to step down after serving the maximum two consecutive terms permitted under Brazil’s constitution, Lula has not said what he plans to do in retirement.
But he commented weeks ago that he was a “natural born politician” who would not rule out maybe trying to return to the presidency after Rousseff’s four-year mandate was over, depending on the performance of the woman he helped get elected.
In her swearing-in speech before Brazil’s Congress, Rousseff repeatedly paid homage to her mentor, calling him a “great man” and vowing to maintain his legacy, notably in reducing poverty and promoting economic prosperity.
