Brazil has elected its first female president. Dilma Rousseff of the ruling Workers Party easily won Sunday’s election in a runoff against José Serra. Rousseff is a close ally of Brazil’s outgoing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was barred by the constitution from running for a third term. Rousseff is a former leftist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured for three years during Brazil’s dictatorship in the 1970s. She held a victory rally on Sunday.

Dilma Rousseff: “It’s an immense joy to be here today. I received from millions of male and female Brazilians the most important mission of my life. This fact, beyond my person, it’s a demonstration of the democratic development of our country, because for the first time a woman will rule Brazil.”