Rousseff secures first victory over minimum wage bill

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has secured her first victory in a bid to curb government spending when the Senate voted to pass the government's monthly minimum wage bill.

The senators voted to raise the minimum wage by 6.8 per cent to 545 Reals and rejected two opposition proposals to lift the wage to a higher amount. By shunning the other proposals, the lawmakers avoided undermining the government's plan to trim 50 billion Reals from its budged. According to government estimates, more than two thirds of pensions and safety net-payments are indexed to the wage, so every one- Real increase raises annual spending by 300 million Reals.

On Wednesday 16th February, Rousseff's coalition in the lower house rejected opposition proposals to raise the wage to 560 Reals and 600 Reals. The vote sent yields lower, as traders trimmed bets on interest rate increases.

Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, The Canadian Press

For more news and expert analysis about Brazil, please see Brazil Focus.

Rousseff sworn into office

Dilma Rousseff has been sworn into office as Brazil's first female president. An estimated 70,000 people gathered for the inauguration ceremony in the country's capital, Brasilia.

Rousseff has taken over from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who left office after two terms. Shortly after the official inauguration ceremony, Rousseff spoke to the nation and pledged to protect the most vulnerable and govern for the benefit of all. In a speech addressing the country, she also made clear that she was aware of the key problems faced by Brazil and assured that she would fulfil her promise of "consolidating the achievements" of her mentor, former president Lula.

Brazil's economy, currently enjoying a boom, inspires confidence in the country's future but Brazil still remains one of the main countries with the most unequal distribution of wealth.

Rousseff, who was appointed as energy minister in President Lula's government in 2003, later served as his chief of staff until 2010. Elected in October 2010, defeating opposition candidate Jose Serra by 56 per cent to 44 per cent in the second round, Rousseff said that her time in office was "just the beginning of a new era."

Sources: Radio Free Europe, Wall Street Journal, BBC News, Al Jazeera

For more news and expert analysis about Brazil, please see Brazil Focus.