Brazil's first female president is about to live as a commoner

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will soon have to leave her lavish presidential palace, with its amenities and helicopter pad, and move into a modest apartment. But perhaps life after her impeachment won't be so bad.

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Photo: Getty Images.

The Brazilian Senate removed Brazil's first female president from office on August 31, joining the nearly 12 million unemployed in Latin America's largest country. Her successor, former Vice President Michel Temer, has been running Brazil since May.

Ms Rousseff will have to say goodbye to the modern, comfortable presidential palace in Brasilia, taking her dog Fafa with her. She will also have to adjust to life without a plane or an army of secretaries, advisers, chefs and bodyguards, along with a monthly salary of about $9,500 and other perks that come with leading a country of 206 million people.

In the next few days, Ms. Rousseff is expected to return to her hometown of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, where she owns a modest apartment. She has 30 days to clear out her Palacio da Alvorada, or Palace of the Dawn. She will have the opportunity to use the Air Force plane for the last time, the Brazilian newspaper Folha reported. She will also be able to keep eight staff members, including four bodyguards, two assistants and two drivers.

Facade of the Brazilian presidential palace. Photo: Wikipedia.

The impeachment trial has not changed the charges of mismanagement of the government. In recent weeks, Ms. Rousseff has begun packing her books and clothes and moving to the city of Porto Alegre. Her apartment is in a residential area on the coast called Tristeza, which means sadness. However, Ms. Rousseff is said to have lived happily there. Taking refuge there during the impeachment trial, Ms. Rousseff often goes for morning bike rides and meets her daughter Paula, her ex-husband Carlos Araujo and her two grandsons Gabriel and Guilherme, ZH Politica reported. The sea air “refreshes her,” the newspaper quoted politicians close to Ms. Rousseff as saying.

Some say Rousseff will be relieved to leave Alvorada. Designed by renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer, the low-rise white building on the outskirts of the capital Brasilia could feel empty and isolated for an elderly single woman. It has glass walls, a large lawn, a spacious swimming pool, a separate chapel and all the essentials, including a health centre, a cinema and a football pitch. “She will be sorry to leave. She has a doctor on duty 24 hours a day. She has no idea how ordinary Brazilians live and how terrible the public hospitals are,” said tour guide Irma Ferreira, 47, who knows the mansion well after taking visitors there.

“Political death sentence”

Others believe something more humane is on the way. “Honestly, I think she would be more comfortable with a simpler lifestyle,” said Alexandre Fragos Lacerda, a political analyst who was gathered outside the Alvorada residence with others to support the former president. Arnold Stevens, an American who has visited the Brazilian presidential palace, described the luxurious residence as “scary.”

What does the notoriously workaholic former president do when she has no work? Rousseff turned down two job offers to study abroad, once in France and once in the United States, Folha reported. Brazil's Senate has voted to ban Rousseff from politics for eight years. So instead of receiving what she calls a "political death sentence," Rousseff could theoretically start her campaign all over again. A quick return to the top of the country is unlikely because she has won two consecutive elections. She also has little support because Brazil's economy has fallen into a deep recession during her time in office. But she is not without a chance to run for Congress.

A source close to Ms Rousseff said the impeachment had given her a new lease on life. “For her, there was no despair. The impeachment only made her stronger,” the source said.

According to TPO