Workers' Party (Brazil) the centre-right opposition bloc as it shrank from 133 to 111 deputies. The left-wing opposition, formed by PSOL, retained control of three seats. The party was also expected to elect its presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff in the first round. However, she was not able to receive the necessary amount of valid votes (over 50%) and a second round in which she scored 56% of the votes took place on 31 October 2010. On 1 January 2011, she was inaugurated and thus became the first female head of government ever in the history of Brazil and the first "de facto" female
Bulgarians in South America is President Dilma Rousseff from the Workers' Party. Her father Pétar was born in Gabrovo and, as an active member of the Bulgarian Communist Party in the 1920s, had to flee from Bulgaria in 1929 due to political persecution. Rousseff's wide margin over her rivals sparked a "Dilma fever" in Bulgaria. Although she does not speak Bulgarian she said in an interview that she does feel like a Bulgarian to a certain extent. During her state visit to Bulgaria, on October 5, 2011, Rousseff was awarded Bulgaria’s highest state honour, the Order of Stara Planina. A notable Bulgarian diaspora also