Brazil’s embattled leader gives emotional plea to stay in office
She says claims that she broke laws lack proof
BRASILIA — A defiant Dilma Rousseff delivered what may be her last speech as president of Brazil on Monday, appealing to senators not to vote for her ouster in a controversial impeachment trial that was postponed until the Rio Olympics concluded.
During an emotional address, Rousseff referred to the torture she suffered as a left-wing guerrilla who was imprisoned by Brazil’s military dictatorship. She said the attempt to impeach her amounted to a coup that would only worsen Brazil’s political and economic crisis.
“The accusations directed against me are unjust and uncalled for,” Rousseff said. “To condemn without sufficient proof is to condemn an innocent.”
Suspended since May
If 54 of a total of 81 senators vote to impeach her, as is widely expected, Rousseff will be definitively ousted and her former vice president, Michel Temer, confirmed as president.
The trial, which began Aug. 25, is the final stage in a protracted process that started in December when Eduardo Cunha, president of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Brazilian Congress, gave the impeachment movement the green light.
Rousseff is accused of breaking budget laws and has been suspended since May, when the Senate confirmed a congressional decision to temporarily remove her from office pending the outcome of her trial and Temer took over as interim president. She denies the charges.
Broadcast live on Brazilian television, Rousseff’s speech to senators was a highly anticipated event.
“I come to look right in the eyes of your excellencies and say I have nothing to hide,” she said. “I did not commit the crimes you accuse me of.”
“What is in play is the self-esteem of Brazilians,” Rousseff said. At that point, she almost broke down in tears, drank some water, was applauded, and continued. “What is in play is the country’s future.”
Brazil’s worst recession in decades was a key factor in Rousseff ’s loss of popularity after she narrowly won reelection in 2014. Some observers say she is paying the political price for mismanaging Brazil’s economy, which was booming when she first came to office in 2011.
Rousseff ’s economic difficulties were exacerbated by demonstrations protesting a huge corruption scandal at the state-run oil company Petrobras and calling for her impeachment. She has not been personally accused of benefiting from the scheme. But the multibillion-dollar scandal has engulfed many in her Workers’ Party.
Last week, police recommended charges against her predecessor and political mentor, Luiz Inaicio Lula da Silva, over a seaside apartment they allege was renovated and given to him as a bribe. He denies the allegations and says the apartment is not his.
Others face allegations
Brazil’s Supreme Court has also approved an investigation into both Lula, as he is widely known here, and Rousseff over accusations that they attempted to obstruct investigations into the Petrobras scandal, which they deny.
Leading politicians from Temer’s party are also being investigated in the scheme — including Cunha and Senate President Renan Calheiros.
Rousseff took aim at Cunha in her speech. He faces corruption charges before Brazil’s Supreme Court over millions of dollars he is accused of keeping in Swiss bank accounts. Investigators say the money came from Petrobras bribes. Cunha was suspended as speaker in May for allegedly trying to intimidate lawmakers and obstruct the investigation into the scandal.