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
Dilma Rousseff instead of being weakened, Rousseff was chosen by Lula to be the new Chief of Staff. She took office on 21 June 2005, becoming the first female to assume the position. As a former Energy Minister, she also holds a seat on the board of directors of Petrobras. According to Gilberto Carvalho, the President's private secretary, Rousseff caught the attention of Lula for her courage to face difficult situations and for her technical skills. Franklin Martins, another guerrilla fighter-turned-minister, said Lula was very impressed with Rousseff's management of the Ministry of Energy, where she prevented another blackout. "Lula realized that