President Dilma Rousseff took her second term with tough challenges

EFE

Dilma Rousseff yesterday took her second four-year term as head of state of Brazil, in a ceremony held in the full House of Representatives in Brasilia.

“I promise to keep, defend and uphold the Constitution, obey the laws, promote the general good of the Brazilian people, sustain the unity, integrity and independence of Brazil as well I promise,” the president swear on a solemn session led by President Senate, Renan Calheiros.

The new mandate of the first woman to reach the Brazilian Presidency raise to 16 years the period of the Workers Party (PT) in power in Brazil after eight years of government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010)

One of the challenges that await Rousseff is the corruption scandal in the state oil company Petrobras which may splatter several of its allies and a hard fiscal adjustment to straighten the slowing economy, which this year grew only 0.14%, according the latest forecast of economists.

The Head of State was re-elected for a second term last October in the most hotly contested campaign in recent years in Brazil and with a lead of just three percentage points over Senator Aécio Neves.