Impeachment Deliberations Begin for Brazil’s President, Vote Due Next Week

As the world’s attention recedes from Rio de Janeiro–which hosted the Olympic games earlier this month–Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is one step closer to being pushed out of office for good. On Thursday, Brazil’s Senate began deliberations regarding her permanent impeachment. A final vote will take place next week. Rousseff, 68, is currently serving an 180-day suspension, resulting from a Senate vote in May.

In April, Brazil’s lower house of parliament, the House of Deputies, passed the impeachment measure by a wide margin. If two-thirds of the Senate votes for her impeachment next week, Rousseff will permanently lose her place at the top of Brazil’s government.

The impeachment proceedings date back to Rousseff’s 2014 re-election bid. She had just been re-elected, and Brazil’s economy, after years of growth, was in the tank. Her opponents accused her of tampering with the country’s economic reports in an attempt to glaze over its bleak economic reality, including record-high unemployment, widespread corruption, and meager growth.

Around the same time, members of her Workers’ Party were brought down for participating in a pay-for-contract scheme with the state-owned petroleum conglomerate, Petrobras. Some of her political opponents accuse Rousseff of being involved in that as well, but the impeachment measure was separate, brought about due to her mishandling of economic reports.

Rousseff’s Vice President Michel Temer took over her duties during her suspension, and if the Senate votes to impeach her, Temer will serve out the remainder of Rousseff’s term through 2018. Rousseff, who accuses her political detractors of engaging in a “coup,” is set to address the Senate on Monday. Rousseff maintains her innocence, but her political allies have been falling in recent months, leaving her with few supporters in parliament. Many of Brazil’s lawmakers are themselves embroiled in corruption scandals: graft, electoral fraud, and human rights abuses.

And where do the Brazilian people stand? Recent polling data suggests most of the populace support Rousseff’s impeachment, with most citing the sinking economy, which is experiencing its slowest growth in decades.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.