Rousseff Vows Economic Stability, War on Poverty in Brazil

Rousseff, whose father was Bulgarian immigrant Petar Rusev, was inaugurated on January 1, 2011 as the 36th President of Brazil.

In her speech before the Congress, she declared a commitment to economic stability saying there was a need need for "stability of prices," as cited by the Wall Street Journal. Her message comes as Brazil has seen rising inflation in the recent months.

She also pointed out she wanted to take up shortly a reform of the Brazilian tax code

She promptly said she wants to tackle one of the most difficult of reforms: overhauling the Brazilian tax code as well as to improve the efficiency of government spending and boost investments in long-term projects.

Rousseff said she also wants to help exporters, who are suffering by the strength of the Brazilian currency and to protect the country against unfair competition and against the "indiscriminating flows of speculative capital."

Rousseff explicitly emphasized her intention to wage a war on poverty.

"The greatest struggle of my government will be to eradicate extreme poverty and to create opportunities for all. We are not going to tire until there are Brazilians living in poverty," she declared as cited by the BBC.

In this context, she recognized the importance of the legacy of economic progress achieved during the two terms of her sponsor and promoter, already former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"In a country as complex as ours, it's always necessary to want more," Rousseff said.

Upon her inauguration, Dilma has strong support in Congress, as her alliance of ten parties has large majorities in both houses. Yet, she is expected to have a hard time keeping this political alliance together.

Tags: Dilma Rousseff, Brazil, Brazilian President, inauguration