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Dilma Rousseff: 'I will govern for all Brazilians'
Dilma Rousseff said that she "will govern for all Brazilians" as she was declared the new president of Brazil, making her the most powerful woman in Latin America
Ms Rousseff had won 56 per cent of the valid votes compared to 44 per cent for her opponent Jose Serra with nearly 95 per cent of all votes counted.
The country's Supreme Electoral Court declared Ms Rousseff,a former Marxist guerilla and twice-divorced grandmother, the winner.
She will replace President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as the leader of Latin Americas biggest country on January 1 next year.
President Lula had chosen Ms Rousseff as the candidate of the ruling Workers Party which he founded.
Ms Rousseff had enjoyed a double-digit lead over her Mr Serra in the final days before into Sundays election.
After casting her vote in the city of Porto Alegre, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Ms Rousseff, 62, gave thumbs up and a victory sign.
Speaking as he voted in Sao Paulo, Brazils biggest city, Mr Serra said that he had faced "an uneven battle" reflecting the fact that the strength of the economy has benefited Ms Rousseff as Ms Rousseff is expected to continue with the mix of market-friendly policies and social programs to alleviate poverty that has characterized President Lulas reign.
But political analysts believe the new incumbent will find it difficult to emulate the international influence of President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, whom US President Barack Obama once called "the most popular politician on earth".
Ms Rousseff, who had a middle-class upbringing, became active in left-wing politics as a student and was heavily involved with resistance to Brazils military dictatorship, which ruled the country from 1964 to 1985.
She was captured and jailed in 1970 and subjected to electric shocks while serving her sentence.
After her release at the end of 1972 she studied economics and went on to become a career civil servant.
She served as energy minister and then President Lula's chief of staff from 2005 until stepping down to run for president earlier this year.
President Lula was constitutionally barred from running again after serving two terms but enjoys approval ratings of around 80 per cent and has been a key factor in Ms Rousseffs campaign.
He has appeared at her side at every opportunity with his undoubted charisma helping to overcome Ms Rousseffs reputation as stern and dour, which has led to her being nicknamed the 'Iron Lady'.
Yesterdays vote was a second round run-off after Ms Rousseff failed to secure the 50 per cent of the vote she needed in the first round four weeks ago.
She had 47 per cent with Mr Serra, of the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and a former governor of Sao Paulo state, on 33 per cent and Marina Silva, of the Green Party, scoring an unexpectedly high 19 per cent.
Mr Serra closed the gap in opinion polls to as little as four percentage points after the first round.
Ms Rousseff came under pressure over claims she would relax Brazils strict laws on abortion, which make it illegal except in cases of rape, where the mother's life is in danger or when the foetus has severe genetic abnormalities.
But she began to surge ahead again after pledging that she would not make abortion easier and successfully steering the debate back towards the economic growth of Brazil.
Ms Rousseff showed how confident she was of victory as she spoke on Saturday in her home city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais - sometimes referred to as Brazils Ohio for its reliability in indicating election winners.
"I will govern for all Brazilians," she announced.
Challenges for Ms Rousseff will include dealing with Brazils overvalued currency, improving infrastructure before the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics of 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and overseeing investment in the oil fields off the countrys south eastern coast.
For Mr Serra, 68, a former mayor of Sao Paulo and governor of Sao Paulo state, it was not the first time he had been involved in a presidential runoff.
The 2002 election also required a second round contest in which Mr Serra was easily defeated by Lula, who was elected president with more than 60 per cent of the vote.
