During Rousseff's management

During Rousseff's management of the Secretariat of Energy in the Dutra administration, the service capacity of the electricity sector rose by 46%.^[37] due to an emergency program attended by state and private companies. Sony VAIO VGN-SR90NS Battery

In January 1999, Rousseff traveled to Brasília in order to alert the Fernando Henrique Cardosoadministration that if the authorities responsible for the power sector did not invest in generation and transmission of energy, the power cuts that Rio Grande do Sul faced early in her administration would take place in the rest of the country. Sony VAIO VGN-SR90S Battery

Therefore, the electricity crisis at the end of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration affected millions of Brazilians, with the exception of those from the three southern states, where a rationing was not imposed, as there was no drought. There was, however, a voluntary energy saving, and Rousseff tried to obtain compensation from the federal government, as it was granted to other regions. Sony VAIO VGN-SR90US Battery

The federal government did not grante it, though, and Rousseff had to compromise with the private sector. According to Pedro Parente, Chief of Staff during the Cardoso administration, "she was pragmatic, objective and showed that she had a fluid dialogue with the business sector." Sony VAIO VGN-SR91NS Battery

The issues related to the area of energy on the government plan of candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were discussed in meetings coordinated by physicist and nuclear engineer Luiz Pinguelli Rosa. Another highlighted member of the group was Ildo Sauer. Both of them were completely opposed to the privatization of the sector, Sony VAIO VGN-SR91PS Battery

which was, in their opinion, responsible for the energy problems that the country was facing. Pinguelli invited Rousseff to join the group meetings in June 2001, where she arrived as a shy participant in a team formed by several professors, but soon stood out with her objectivity and good knowledge of the area. Sony VAIO VGN-SR91S Battery

However, it was clear for everyone in the group that Pinguelli would become the Minister of Energy if Lula won the election.^[37]

It was a great surprise for everyone that, after elected, Lula chose Rousseff as the incumbent Minister. The President elect declared: Sony VAIO VGN-SR91US Battery

"Already near 2002, it appears there a comrade with a little computer in her hand. We started debating and I realized she had a differential characteristic from the others who were there, because she came in with the practicality of the assignment of running the Secretary of Energy of Rio Grande do Sul. Then I was like: I think I found my Minister here." Sony VAIO VGN-SR92NS Battery

Another factor which would have weighed heavily on Lula's choice was the sympathy that Antonio Palocci had for Rousseff, recognizing that she would have a much easier dialogue with the private sector than Pinguelli, in addition to her support of the Carta aos Brasileiros (English: Letter to the Brazilian People), agreeing with several market friendly changes in the Workers' Party. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92PS Battery

Dutra said he was consulted by Lula, and praised Rousseff's technical merits while Secretary of Energy during his administration. "I could have weighted the scale in her favor at that time, but from the transition government forward the merit is all hers," he recalled. After her appointment, she became very close to José Dirceu, appointed by Lula as the new Chief of Staff of Brazil. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92S Battery

Her management of the Ministry was marked by the respect of contracts made by the previous administration, by her efforts to prevent further blackouts and by the implementation of an electric model less concentrated in the hands of the state, differently from what Rosa and Sauer desired. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92US Battery

Regarding the free market of energy, Rousseff not only kept it as she expanded it as well. José Luiz Alquéres, president of Light S.A., praised the approach taken by Rousseff, which is, accordind to him, helping the segment as a whole. He criticized, however, the delay in the implementation of the new model, but said that this is the fault of the bureaucratic government machinery. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93DS Battery

Convinced that urgent investments in power generation were required so that the country would not face a general blackout in 2009, Rousseff entered in a serious clash with then Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, which defended the embargo on several construction sites, concerned with the ecological imbalance that they could cause. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93JS Battery

Dirceu had to create a team of mediators between the two ministers in order to try to resolve their disputes.^[58]

A close friend of Lula, Pinguelli was appointed as president of Eletrobrás, and found himself at odds with Rousseff on several occasions, considering an early resignation once. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93PS Battery

He was ironic about Rousseff's alleged mood swings, being quoted as saying that "this lady formats her disk every week." Pinguelli eventually left the federal government on 2004. Mauricio Tolmasquim, a member of the transition government which shared a vision of the energy sector similar to Rousseff's, was invited by her to be the executive secretary of the ministry. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93YS Battery

He stated that once they got to know each other better, Rousseff started shouting with him occasionally. "It's her way. It's not personal. And in five minutes everything is okay," he said. Sauer, who took over the gas and energy department ofPetrobras, also clashed with the minister, who repulsed his ideas of a statist model. Sony VAIO VGN-SR94FS Battery

Sometimes the clashes between them were so serious that Lula's intervention was necessary. Sauer left the state oil company in 2007. Another one which had disagreements with the minister on energy issues was the former Congressman Luciano Zica. For him, "Dilma is the most democratic person in the world, as long as you agree 100% with her." Sony VAIO VGN-SR94GS Battery

He recently left PT and joined theGreen Party along with Marina Silva.

After becoming a Minister, Rousseff defended a new industrial policy from the government, ensuring that Petrobras' platforms had a minimum domestic content, what could generate 30 thousand new jobs in the country. Sony VAIO VGN-SR94HS Battery

She argued that it was unthinkable that a billion dollar building was not being made in Brazil.^[59] The bids for the P-51 and P-52 platforms were then the first in the country to require a minimum domestic content.^[60] The requirement was heavily criticized, on the grounds that it would increase the costs of Petrobras,Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS Battery

but Rousseff defended the country's ability to produce ships and platforms, stating that the nationalization rates of the platforms, which varied between 15% and 18% rose to more than 60% after the requirement.^[62] Lula acknowledged that, from the perspective of the company, the costs did in fact go higher, Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery

but that Petrobras should not only target the immediate costs, but also the strengthening of national science and technologies.^[63] In 2008, the shipbuilding industry as a whole employed 40 thousand people, compared to 500 people in the mid-90s, in part because of the nationalization requirement.^[63] Brazil now has the 6th largest shipping industry in the world. Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery

Rousseff proposed to accelerate the goals of universalizing the access to electricity, which had a deadline of 2015, suggesting that 1.4 million rural households would get electricity access by 2006. She argued that it was a social inclusion goal that should be a part of Fome Zero, (Zero Hunger) and that it was not possible to assume that such a program would provide a financial return. Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery

During the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, a similar program, called Luz no Campo (English: Rural Electrification), was created to encourage agribusiness providing the funding by the recipient. The goal of the program was to provide electricity to over a million households, but as of early 2003 only half of them had been electrified. Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery

According to Rousseff, the results of this program were higher in states where local governments subsidized it for the population.^[66] She defended, then, a program heavily subsidized by the federal government, which should not only subsidize, but cover the costs for the universalization of electricity. Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery

The subsidy, however, should be for the consumer, and not for the electric companies.^[66]

The program was launched in November 2003, under the name Luz para Todos (English: Electricity for All), focused in regions with a low Human Development Indexand toward families with total incomes equaling, up to, three times the minimum wage. Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery

The goal of the program was to provide electricity for 2.5 million rural households (aproximately 12 million people) by the end of 2008. In October 2008, Rousseff acknowledged that the government would not be able to fulfill its goal in time, leaving 100,000 households behind. In April 2008, the government extended the program until 2010, in order to benefit another 1.17 million families. Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery

49% of the program's connections are concentrated in the Northeastern region of Brazil, which represented, from January 2005 to May 2008, 37.8% of all new wiring in the region, making the Northeast surpass the Southern region in power consumption for the first time. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery

Despite being initially advertised as being funded by the Federal Government, 90% of its cost is actually paid for by electricity consumers, through several tariffs on energy prices.^[68]

As Minister of Energy, Rousseff had the support of two key ministers of the Lula administration: Antonio Palocci and José Dirceu. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery

After Dirceu resigned as Chief of the Presidential Staff due to his involvement in the so-called "Mensalão" scandal, instead of being weakened, Rousseff was chosen by Lula to be the new Chief of Staff. She took office on 21 June 2005, becoming the first female to assume the position.^[37] As a former Energy Minister, she also holds a seat on the board of directors of Petrobras.^[69] Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery

According to Gilberto Carvalho, the President's private secretary, Rousseff caught the attention of Lula for her courage to face difficult situations and for her technical skills. Franklin Martins, another guerrilla fighter-turned-minister, said Lula was very impressed with Rousseff's management of the Ministry of Energy, where she prevented another blackout. Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery

"Lula realized that she kept things moving," he said. By choosing Rousseff, Lula also prevented the political dispute between Palocci and Dirceu to succeed him, while Rousseff did not have such ambition for being a new member of the Workers' Party, and not belonging to any party faction, she moved about well in all of them. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery

Rousseff said to Carvalho that being appointed as Chief of Staff was a much bigger surprise for her than being appointed as Minister of Energy.^[37] In the opinion of Rio Grande do Sul Senator and former Governor Pedro Simon, since Rousseff took office, "seriousness is being imposed" in the Presidential Staff.^[70] Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery

After Rousseff took office, the U.S. Consulate General in São Paulo sent a long profile of her to the U.S. Department of State.^[71] It detailed several aspects of her life, talking about her past activity in guerrilla organizations, her tastes and habits, and professional characteristics, being described as a prestigious and detailed technician, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery

with the reputation of a workaholic and a great ability to listen, but lacking political tact, turning directly to technicians rather than her superiors.

On 13 June 2010, after more than two years of widespread speculation, Rousseff launched her campaign as the official presidential candidate for the Workers' Party in the 2010 presidential election.^[74] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery

At that time, former São Paulo StateGovernor José Serra, candidate for the center-right opposition bloc, had been at the top of the polls for over two years. With promises of maintaining Lula's popular policies, Rousseff was able to surpass Serra in all the polls by late July.^[75]In spite of maintaining a wide margin over him, Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NGB Battery

she did not receive 50% of unspoiled votes in the first round and had to face a run-off against Serra on 31 October, when she was elected with over 56% of the unspoilt votes.