"[There is] a relentless pursuit among the opposition to shorten their route to power. They want to jump, causing a blow… the artificiality of the arguments is absolute. The desire to undermine the smooth functioning of laws and institutions is obvious. They play shamelessly, the worse the better," the Brazilian leader was quoted by the Brazilian Exame magazine as saying on Tuesday.
The president said that the opposition's attempt to undermine the government is not simply targeted against her, but "against…what made Brazil a country without poverty."
Rousseff has been facing rising discontent over the country's struggling economy and a major corruption scandal in the state-owned energy corporation Petrobras. Rousseff headed the company for seven years, between 2003 and 2010, the period during which most of the corruption reportedly took place.
She was re-elected less than a year ago but her popularity ratings are currently at critical low, at levels unseen in the country since the early 1990s.
Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets across the country in recent months, demanding that impeachment procedures be started against Rousseff.
