Dilma's apotheosis
His big moment is yet to come, and it will happen in a year, on the half-century mark of the 1964 military coup.
President Dilma Rousseff is currently riding high. With over 70% popular approval, 58% in the Datafolha poll, and a potential vote share reaching 76%, she has achieved a level of popularity unprecedented in the country's history, even by Lula's standards.
Her public success, far greater than her critical acclaim (at least in the traditional media), stems not only from the blessed legacy left by Lula. It is also a result of her own trademarks, such as the "ethical cleanup" and the image of "Mother Dilma," who is concerned about the voter's wallet in practical everyday matters, such as electricity bills, home financing, and the price of basic necessities, not to mention, now, the FGTS (Severance Indemnity Fund) and night shift pay for the millions of Brazilian women who perform domestic services.
Packaging material for the "Dilma product," therefore, will be plentiful for the skilled hands of marketing strategist João Santana. But if all that weren't enough, he will also have an ace up his sleeve to construct Dilma's magic moment a year from now, when the calendar marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the military regime.
Whether on March 31, 2014, or on April 1st, the actual date of the coup, Dilma will have the ideal moment to deliver to society all the results of the Truth Commission. Six months before the presidential elections, Brazil will be able to settle accounts with its past, precisely under the government of a woman who was persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned by the regime. A survivor.
It is not difficult to imagine, therefore, what João Santana might do with the image of the young Dilma who, proudly, showed her face and gazed towards the future, while the military officers who interrogated her hid from the camera lenses. Dilma will have her apotheosis and, in the eyes of the public, will appear to be a predestined woman. Which perhaps she is.