Brazil could have first woman president after Lula picks successor

Brazil's ruling Workers' party has nominated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, to replace him, raising the prospect of the country's first woman president. Lula, who cannot stand for a third term, picked the 62-year-old guerrilla leader turned economist to carry his centre-left banner in October's election. A party congress endorsed her with a banner which read "With Dilma, along the path that Lula showed us". Rousseff has never run for public office and lags behind a conservative rival, Sao Paulo governor Jose Serra, but polls show the gap narrowing.