Brazil Begins Impeachment Proceedings Against Rousseff
May 12, 2016
Brazil’s political landscape became yet more complex today, as the nation’s Senate began impeachment proceedings against President, Dilma Rousseff (JEEL mah ROO sehf). (The act of impeachment is a formal vote taken by a legislative body accusing a high-ranking government official of serious wrongdoing and sometimes includes the trial that follows.) Roussef is accused of financial irregularities; her critics claim that she delayed making debt payments to state-owned banks to hide budget deficits.
This accusation comes at a time when Brazil’s government is enmeshed in a serious corruption scandal. The state-owned oil firm Petrobras (Petróleo Brasileiro), one of the largest corporations in Latin America, was formed in the 1950′s and privatized (sold to private investors) in the 1990′s. Then, the Worker’s Party (known as PT, for Party Partido dos Trabalhadores in Portuguese), led by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (loo EESH ee NAHS yoo LOO luh duh SIHL vuh), restored Petrobras to state control. Brazil now owns the largest share of the company. Worker’s Party politicians are accused of putting their own candidates in top executive positions at Petrobras. Around 3 percent of the money paid to the company was then siphoned off to the PT, which used the proceeds for bribes and campaign funding. Directors at Petrobras and construction companies, the latter accused of overcharging for oil-refinery construction, also stole millions of dollars for themselves. More than one-third of the members of Brazil’s Congress are caught up in Petrobras investigations. President Rousseff is not directly accused of taking money in the Petrobras scandal but, before she became president of the nation in 2011, she was director of Petrobras from 2003-2010. Critics claim her campaign funds were partly financed with Petrobras money.
In addition to this scandal, Brazil’s economy, once one of the strongest in the emerging market nations, is in a deep recession, in part because of the downturn in oil prices, but also because of failed government economic policies, Brazil’s GDP (gross domestic product, the market value of all final goods and services produced in a country during a year) has decreased to 2009 levels. The economy shrank 3.8 percent last year and is forecast to decrease more than 3 percent this year. In addition, consumer spending is down, inflation is at 7 percent, and unemployment is on the rise. There are 3 million more unemployed people in Brazil than there were one year ago. This has led to massive demonstrations and street protests.
Rousseff must step aside while her case is tried by the Brazilian Senate. Vice President Michel Temer will step in for Rousseff during this interim. He has a very big job ahead of him. In addition to political and economic problems, Brazil is caught in a health emergency. In fewer than 100 days, the Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin in Rio de Janiero. Meanwhile, the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil has led to serious birth defects in more than 1,000 infants and to calls for the games to be moved or postponed.
Other Behind the headline
Brazil Challenged From All Sides (March 15, 2016)