There is a Brazilian political adage according to which, in Brazil, even the past is uncertain.
When Congress impeached Dilma Rousseff in 2016, she left office as one of the least popular presidents in Brazilian history. Only 10 percent of the electorate approved of her work — and millions of Brazilians spent months taking to the streets to demand her ousting.
“We will be back to continue our journey towards a Brazil where the people are sovereign,” said the former president in a speech in September 2016, shortly after Congress confirmed her impeachment.
At that moment in time, few things seemed as unlikely as a comeback from her.
Two years after losing the presidential chair, Ms. Rousseff took another swing at political office in 2018, running as Senator for the state of Minas Gerais — but she failed to fill either of the two available seats. Now, the Workers’ Party and the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration are trying to rehabilitate her as a political figure.
Ms. Rousseff was handpicked by Lula to take the Workers’ Party’s mantle in the 2010 election. The then-leader was finishing a two-term presidency and, unable to run for a third, picked a cabinet minister with no electoral experience — as close as it was thought he could get to running the country by proxy.
But despite winning elections in 2010 and 2014 by presenting herself as Lula’s candidate, Ms. Rousseff decided to run the show according to her own convictions once in office — often ignoring her political godfather’s advice and making enemies from former political allies.
As president, Dilma Rousseff revealed her...
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