Roussef's win also a victory for Lula in Brazil (Feature)

By Helmut Reuter Nov 1, 2010, 5:58 GMT

Brasilia - Emotions only surfaced once during the victory celebration when Brazil's president-elect Dilma Rousseff mentioned the name of her mentor, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Hundreds of supporters chanted, 'Ole, Ole, Lula, Lula.'

Lula was not at the hotel in Brasilia, wanting to avoid stealing the show from her. 'He thinks that today this is (Rousseff's) party. The president will say nothing today,' a spokesman said.

In addition to Rousseff, Lula also emerged as a winner with his political legacy in good hands.

Lula is often mocked for beginning many of his speeches with the words, 'Never before in the history of this country...' On Sunday, he could say it with justification, as never before has Brazil had a female head of state and never before has the Workers' Party been in power for so long.

'That is probably the most important mission of my life,' said the left-wing Rousseff, who is due to take over from Lula on January 1.

She lacks the charisma of her predecessor, a fact that was underlined after her victory. The former energy minister read out a 15-minute speech, promised an end to poverty in Brazil, mentioned international rules for the financial markets and affirmed the importance of offshore oil for the funding of social projects.

Her performance was wooden and dry, with the stresses of the campaign apparent.

A few minutes later, losing candidate Jose Serra appeared in front of the cameras to congratulate Rousseff on her victory.

'Today the electorate has spoken,' the former governor of Sao Paolo said, adding that he accepted the result with 'respect and humility.'

It was the second defeat for the 68-year-old candidate of the Social Democratic party. He lost in the 2002 run-off vote against Lula. But he remained defiant, saying 'The fight goes on. Long live Brazil.'

Both candidates appeared exhausted and sounded hoarse after a two-month campaign.

Many of the 136 million voters were subjected to the constant bombardment of radio and television adverts. Despite compulsory voting, 29 million did not bother to take part in the electronic election.

The candidates promised little in the campaign, instead attacking each other. 'Now is the time for unity,' Rousseff said. 'I am reaching out to the opposition parties.

But she cannot depend on the opposition, whose 10-party alliance has a solid majority in parliament.

Lula is due to be one of Rousseff's closest advisors after she takes office. 'I'll knock on his door regularly,' she said.

Could Lula make a comeback at the presidential election in 2014? 'I don't even know if I will live that long,' said the former union official, who was 65 on Wednesday.

He already has a project planned for when he leaves office. 'I want to relax.'

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