First inauguration of Dilma Rousseff

The inauguration of Dilma Rousseff as the 36th President of Brazil took place on Saturday, January 1, 2011. This inauguration marked the beginning of the four-year term of Dilma Rousseff as President and Michel Temer as Vice President. The event had been awaited with some expectation, since Rousseff became the first woman in the history of Brazil to take office as President. It was also the first inaugural ceremony of the New Republic and of the democratic rule in which an outgoing President passed his office to a successor belonging to the same political party as him – the Workers' Party.

Context

The inauguration marked the formal culmination of the Presidential transition of Dilma Rousseff that began when she won the Brazilian presidential election on October 31, 2010, and became the President-elect. The results were certified by the Superior Electoral Court on December 17, 2010.

Rousseff, who campaigned using the slogan " For Brazil to keep on changing", was widely celebrated as the first female president of Brazil and a symbol of continuity from her highly popular predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. According to the Sensus polling institute, Lula might have been the most popular head of state in the world. Jubé, Andrea and Pires, Carol
"CNT/Sensus: aprovação de Lula é recorde mundial"
''O Estado de S. Paulo''. December 29, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011. Approved by 87% of Brazilians at the end of his term, his popularity level beat those of Michelle Bachelet (84%), Nelson Mandela (82%), and Tabaré Vázquez (80%) in their respective home countries. According to David Rothkopf, she inherited "a country with very high expectations", since Lula had "overseen an economic boom, major social reforms and the elevation of Brazil's standing to the top ranks of nations in the world".Rothkopf, David
"The challenges of picking the right predecessor, Brazil style"
'' Foreign Policy''. September 29, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.

Planning

The inauguration was planned primarily by a group composed by members of the Presidential transition, the Ministries of External Relations and Defence, in addition to the Presidency of the Republic. Londres, Mariana
"Equipe de Dilma marca dois ensaios para garantir “perfeição” na posse"
R7. December 19, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. Although the election was scheduled for October 3 ( first round) and October 31, 2010 (second round), the group began planning the inaugural ceremony even prior to that."Ritos da Posse"
Portal Brasil. Retrieved January 2, 2011.

Invitations

The group organizing the inauguration distributed invitations for the swearing in ceremony to foreign and national authorities, in addition to Rousseff's and Temer's relatives. Costa, Rosa

''O Estado de S. Paulo''. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. The ceremonial body of the Senate had sent invitations to all Federal Deputies and Senators of the current legislature, and also to those who will be sworn in on February 1. Folha Online
"Congresso espera 2.000 convidados para cerimônia de posse de Dilma"
Agora MS. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. The invitations were not transferable, each one of them having a barcode to identify the guests by name and photo.

Until December 30, 2010, the publishing house of the Senate had printed 1,500 invitations for Rousseff's swearing in. The National Congress had been expected a total of 2,000 guests for the ceremony, but ultimately a thousand guests witnessed Rousseff's and Temer's swearing in on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies, where a solemn session of the Congress was held. Last minute invitations could have been printed at the request of the Ministry of External Relations and the federal government.

The swearing in was accompanied by representatives of 132 countries. Caprioli, Gabriel; Fleck, Isabel; Sabadini, Tatiana and Khodr, Carolina
"Dilma começa governo de olho no plano externo"
''Estado de Minas''. January 2, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011. According to the Presidency of the Republic, ten Presidents, nine Prime-Ministers and one Vice-President attended the ceremony, in addition to 132 ambassadors and United Nations representatives. The vast majority of leaders which attended were from Latin America. Representatives of major trade partners of Brazil, such as France, India, and China, were absent. According to Celso Amorim, the non-attendance was due to the fact that the Brazilian inauguration is held on January 1. "We always wish that more people attend, but the date is really unfortunate", he said.

For the reception held at the Itamaraty Palace, the Ministry of External Relations issued 2,500 invitations at the request of the Presidential transition and the Presidency of the Republic. Over 300 foreign authorities attended, in addition to Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin, which had been absent from the inaugural ceremony.

Rehearsals

On December 19, 2010, the first rehearsal for the inaugural ceremony of Rousseff was held. iG Brasília
"Com dublê de Dilma, Itamaraty realiza 1º ensaio da posse"
Último Segundo. December 19, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. Juliana Rebelo, a civil servant of the Senate, acted as her during the rehearsal, which was closely watched by journalists and curious passers-by. The second and final rehearsal was held on December 26, this time featuring the 1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith which serves as the President's celebratory car. That same day, Rousseff told the group responsible for organizing her inauguration that she will not be taking her mother nor her daughter with her at the Silver Wraith. Guerreiro, Gabriela
"Dilma desfilará sozinha em carro aberto no dia da posse"
''Folha de S. Paulo''. December 26, 2010. Traditionally, the President-elect parades alongside his spouse, but Rousseff is divorced. Nevertheless, at the inauguration, Rousseff changed her mind and took daughter Paula to parade with her.

The news portal G1, which accompanied the rehearsal, anticipated that the inauguration would be "quite a feminine party". Redação
"Posse de Dilma vai destacar o papel das mulheres na história do Brasil"
. ''Correio da Bahia''. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. Important female figures in Brazil's history were honored with panels spread across the Monumental Axis.

Inaugural events

Arena Brasil

The Ministry of Culture organized the cultural part of the inauguration, having provided a budget of 1.5 million reais (around 0.9 million U.S. dollars) for the event. Andrade, Claudia (Terra)
"Festa da posse custará R$ 1,5 mi"
. Blog do Noblat. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. The first part of cultural presentations, named ''Arena Brasil'',
Terra. December 26, 2010. began at 10:00 am BRST (12:00 UTC) and ended at 2:00 pm, with the start of the official inauguration ceremony. Londres, Mariana
"Veja como será a cerimônia de posse de Dilma"
R7. December 19, 2010.

''Arena Brasil'' honored the regions of Brazil. From 10:00 am until 12:00 pm (14:00 UTC) there were presentations of children's groups. There were also musical presentations from 10:00 am (12:00 UTC) until 2:00 pm (16:00 UTC) in each of the four tents spread along the Monumental Axis, honoring the North, Northeast Region, Brazil, Southeast and South regions of Brazil.

The ''Arena Brasil'' project, which began at Rousseff's inauguration, is expected to continue in civic dates throughout Brazil. Five major events are planned for 2011. The next ''Arena Brasil'' event will be held in the Northeast on April 22 to commemorate the date which marks the arrival of Pedro Álvares Cabral in Brazil. On August 11, the Black Consciousness Day will feature an ''Arena Brasil'' event in the Southeast. The Independence Day will feature an ''Arena Brasil'' event in the South, while the Proclamation of the Republic Day will feature the project in the North.

Parade

Rousseff left the Granja do Torto residence at 2:00 pm (16:00 UTC) and arrived at the Cathedral of Brasilia at 2:15 pm (16:15 UTC). Araújo, Glauco
"Professora critica cerimonial por iniciar desfile de Dilma sob chuva"
G1. January 1, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011. It began to rain right after she left the residence, and she could not parade to the Congress with the hood open, frustrating the public. Nevertheless, Rousseff opened the car window to wave her hand at the public.
The car wandered through the Monumental Axis, stopping at the National Congress, where, around 2:30 pm (16:30 UTC), Rousseff and Temer were received by the President of that body, José Sarney.

On the floor of the Chamber, both of them signed a term agreeing with the demands of the office, and were sworn in with the oath of "maintaining, protecting and fulfilling the Federal Constitution, comply with the laws, promote the general welfare of the Brazilian people, sustain the unity, integrity and independence of Brazil". Rousseff then made her first speech as President. At around 4 pm (18:00 UTC), Rousseff and Temer left the Congress building towards the Palácio do Planalto

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