Her opponents mustered five votes more than they will need to convict Rousseff at the end of the month, allowing interim President Michel Temer to serve the rest of her term through 2018.
Advertisement
The result of the vote Wednesday was expected after the Senate in May voted to suspend Rousseff for 180 days.
In a dramatic illustration of the Brazilian people’s dissatisfaction with the interim coup-imposed president Michel Temer, almost every facet of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro – from the torch relay to the declaration of the games’ opening by the Brazilian head of state – has been plagued by political protests due to the legislative suspension of left-leaning President Dilma Rousseff.
The Guardian described the outcome of today’s vote as “a foregone conclusion” because Rousseff’s opponents “needed only a simple majority in the senate to put her on trial”. It also looked like game over for Rousseff, who lost crucial ground instead of winning over more senators.
Temer has urged senators to wrap up the trial quickly so he can move ahead with a plan to cap public spending, reform an overly generous pension system and restore confidence in government finances.
While the world has its sights on the Olympic Games in Rio, much of Brazil is paying attention to president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial in the Senate.
“The cards are marked in this game”. “There is no trial, just a sentence that has already been written”.
He spoke on behalf of the 10 senators who belong to the conservative Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) in support of the impeachment trial.
Temer-who chose a Cabinet of “all rich, white males”-is embroiled in corruption scandals and is very unpopular but is “business-friendly”, according to Reuters”.
She has also said efforts to depose her are part or a coup and a plot to obstruct an investigation involving state-run oil giant Petrobras that has seen the arrest of high-profile politicians and businessmen.
Last week, Brazilian news magazine Veja reported that Marcelo Odebrecht, the former chief executive of Latin America’s largest construction company, admitted in a plea bargain testimony that he personally oversaw illegal campaign donations for Temer in 2014.
If Rousseff is dismissed from office, her term that expires January 1, 2019, will be completed by Temer.
One question that arises from Bernie Sanders’ statement is timing: why, after months of silence on Brazil’s political crisis, did he finally speak out now?
Advertisement
Sanders has pointed out that Rousseff was democratically elected by Brazilians and her suspension has only increased distrusts from Brazil’s voters and worldwide observers about governmental functions in the country. Even Rousseff’s own political party, the Workers’ Party, has largely abandoned her.
