Brazil's first woman President, Dilma Rousseff, has been sworn into office.
In her inaugural speech to Congress yesterday she pledged to prevent the "plague" of inflation from undermining her plans to eradicate poverty in Latin America's biggest economy while fostering economic growth.
"To ensure the continuation of the current economic growth cycle we need to ensure stability, especially price stability," she said. "We won't allow under any hypothesis that this plague returns to eat away our economic tissue and hurt the poorest families."
Ms Rousseff received the presidential sash from Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who exits as the most popular leader on record in Brazil after overseeing growth last year forecast to be the fastest since the mid-1980s. She vowed to contain spending and tackle obstacles to sustained growth such as a complex tax system.
Brazil's first female president said her "most obstinate fight" will be to eradicate poverty. She emphasized that only economic growth can generate the jobs necessary for coming generations and allow the country to overcome income inequality.
Some 70,000 Brazilians lined the streets of Brasilia to watch as Ms Rousseff was driven from the Congress to the presidential palace. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was followed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in a line of foreign dignitaries who greeted Rousseff and Vice-President Michel Temer.
Agencies