RIO DE JANEIRO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Chief of Staff and likely presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff said on Thursday that she believes the country is ready to have a female president.

    "I do not see why Brazil could not have a female president," Rousseff said after a meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in Sao Paulo. "The society is mature enough for that."

    Rousseff is Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's handpicked candidate in the 2010 presidential elections.

    Rousseff said she discussed with Bachelet the struggles women have to go though in a political system dominated by men and praised Bachelet's governing amid the international financial crisis.

    It is not the first time that Rousseff has said her country is ready to have a female president. She made a similar statement in January during the World Social Forum. However, she stressed her status as a government official instead of a presidential candidate on both occasions.