- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Far Left Leaps to Defend Brazil's Suspended President Dilma Rousseff

© REUTERS / Ueslei Marcelino Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff attends the final session of debate and voting on Rousseff's impeachment trial in Brasilia, Brazil, August 29, 2016
Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff attends the final session of debate and voting on Rousseff's impeachment trial in Brasilia, Brazil, August 29, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Demonstrations in support of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff continue outside Brazil despite the attempt of the country's press to hush up the situation, Jose Reinaldo Carvalho, Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Communist Party of Brazil, told Sputnik.

Supporters of the government of Brazilian suspended President Dilma Rousseff protest against her upcoming impeachment trial in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 12, 2016 - Sputnik International
International Court: Impeachment of Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff an Illegitimate Coup
In an exclusive interview with Sputnik, Jose Reinaldo Carvalho, Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Communist Party of Brazil, said that with the impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff currently in place, rallies in support of Rousseff show no sign of abating outside Brazil.

Carvalho referred to a recent meeting of the communist and revolutionary parties of Latin America and the Caribbean in the Peruvian capital Lima, where participants "energetically condemned the coup in Brazil" and expressed their solidarity with Rousseff and the Brazilian people.

"Another such demonstration will be held later on Tuesday in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires near the Brazilian Embassy, in a show of international solidarity," he said.

He specifically emphasized the paramount importance of these support rallies, which he said will continue for several days.

© AFP 2023 / ANDRESSA ANHOLETE View of the senate plenary session during the voting session of the suspended President Dilma Rousseff's impeachement committee in Brasilia on August 9, 2016
View of the senate plenary session during the voting session of the suspended President Dilma Rousseff's impeachement committee in Brasilia on August 9, 2016 - Sputnik International
View of the senate plenary session during the voting session of the suspended President Dilma Rousseff's impeachement committee in Brasilia on August 9, 2016

"I don't know how it [the show of solidarity] will change the voices in the Senate, but it is of great historic significance. It will be remembered by present and future generations of Brazilians, as well as this injustice and violence over democracy," he said in a clear nod to the ongoing impeachment trial.

Carvalho also underscored the significance of "today's speech by Rousseff," which he said "will demoralize the organizers of the coup who temporarily seized power and who will undoubtedly yield to the people's will."

For his part, International Relations Professor Leonardo Paz of the Rio-based Ibmec Institute told Sputnik that Dilma's political fate has already been prejudged and that it is unlikely that anything will change.

"If she is permanently removed from office, Rousseff will be banned from being elected in the next eight years. I do not think that during this period she will be engaged in any party activities," he said.

Joselicio Junior of the Marxist-Leninist Brazilian Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), said in a separate interview with Sputnik that the PSOL has already warned against the impeachment, adding that voting in favor of dismissing Rousseff would be a big mistake.

"We do not consider the budgetary manipulations sufficient justification for her dismissal," Joselicio said.

According to him, "if Dilma does not return to office, the decision about the country's future should be taken by people rather than those in the government who staged this institutional coup."

He added that the country's left-wing forces now have a lot of proposals, including one related to holding a new presidential election.

© REUTERS / Paulo WhitakerA supporter of Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff throws a traffic barrier to make a burning barricade to block a main avenue next to Arena Sao Paulo stadium, in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 30, 2016
A supporter of Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff throws a traffic barrier to make a burning barricade to block a main avenue next to Arena Sao Paulo stadium, in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 30, 2016 - Sputnik International
A supporter of Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff throws a traffic barrier to make a burning barricade to block a main avenue next to Arena Sao Paulo stadium, in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 30, 2016

"We are very much concerned about what may break out in the country with a new interim government and with the devilish package of measures which is currently being developed. They include the freezing of funds for health care and education, as well as the revision of the labor code and the changes to the pension system," he said.

Debora Nunes, a member of the national executive committee of the Movement of landless peasants, for her part, told Sputnik that even though the impeachment is taking place, it will fail to put an end to the Brazilian crisis.

If the impeachment happens, the number of protest rallies across Brazil will certainly increase because the interim government has already signaled its plans pertaining to the country's working class," she said, praising Rousseff's decision to deliver a speech to parliament.

In Monday's address to the Senate on her impeachment trial, Rousseff, in particular, denied committing crimes concerning the state budget she stands accused of, urging MPs "to vote for democracy."

"The evidence makes it clear that charges against me are merely pretexts based on fragile judicial rhetoric. These are pretexts to overthrow a legitimate government through a criminal impeachment without criminal responsibility… We are one step closer to a serious institutional breakdown. We are one step closer to achieving a real coup," she said.

She also warned the senators against being involved in the battle that she said would deepen the crisis in Brazil, asking them to be fair towards the president, who she said was never beyond the law with respect to private and public activities.

The upper house of the Brazilian parliament opened Rousseff's impeachment trial on Thursday. If two-thirds of the senators, 54 people, vote for the impeachment, Rousseff will be removed from office, otherwise the impeachment will be terminated and she will resume her presidency.

Brazilian suspended President Dilma Rousseff gives a press conference with international media at the presidential residence Alvorada Palace in Brasilia on May 13, 2016 - Sputnik International
Powder Keg: Brazil Will 'Explode' if Dilma Rousseff is Kicked Out of Office
In May, the upper house of the Brazilian parliament voted 55-22 to start impeachment proceedings against Rousseff after she was accused of concealing the country's budget deficit ahead of the 2014 election. Rousseff has been suspended from office for 180 days. Vice President Michel Temer has being fulfilling the functions of the presidency during that period.

Dilma Rousseff's approval ratings plummeted after she was re-elected with a slim majority in October 2014, mostly due to the country's economic downturn and the scandal which engulfed the country's state-run oil company Petrobras, according to the BBC. Operation Car Wash, the investigation into the scandal, implicated important figures from Rousseff's Workers' Party, the party of popular former president Lula da Silva, whom Rousseff succeeded.

Despite concerns regarding graft within Brazil's principal center-left party, the far left has rushed to her support, perhaps recalling the years she spent supporting various left-wing and Marxist guerrilla groups that fought the country's military dictatorship following its US-backed 1964 coup d'etat.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала