Brazil’s First Female President, Dilma Rousseff Hospitalized In Shanghai

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been hospitalized in Shanghai due to an ear inflammation, her team confirmed on Tuesday.

Rousseff, 77, who currently serves as the head of the New Development Bank (NDB) established by the BRICS bloc, was admitted to the Shanghai East International Medical Center on February 21 after being diagnosed with vestibular neuritis, an inflammation of the nerve responsible for balance.

Despite her hospitalization, the statement from her team assured that she is responding well to treatment and is expected to be discharged in a few days. It also noted that Rousseff has continued to work during her stay at the hospital.

Rousseff was appointed as the president of the Shanghai-based NDB in 2023 by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. She previously made history as Brazil’s first female president in 2010 after being handpicked by Lula, who had completed two consecutive terms. However, she was impeached in 2016 during her second term over allegations of budgetary misconduct.

Lula later played a key role in her political rehabilitation, facilitating her leadership at the NDB, a financial institution founded in 2014 by BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Brazil currently holds the rotating presidency of BRICS and is set to host a summit of member nations in Rio de Janeiro this July. The bloc, initially formed in 2009, has since expanded to include countries such as Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.