Her own woman

Rousseff has not shown herself to be a dangerous left-winger, nor has she been a carbon copy of her very popular patron and predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, says the Economist. Both possibilities were oft-raised before Rousseff became Brazil’s first female president. She is battling congress to reduce spending and proving tough on inflation, both of which the Economist says are positive first steps. The next test will be whether Rousseff, a competent administrator, has the political chops to “extract reform from her large but voracious coalition in Congress.”