Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday that she is “innocent” of charges leveled against her and asked the Senate to end a current impeachment process that could dismiss her administration. The final phase of Rousseff’s impeachment process is expected to last for about five days, and the actual judgment vote is reported to likely take place on August 30 or 31.
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She is scheduled to have half an hour on August 29 to present her defense in person.
The Globo news organisation reported that the actual judgment vote will take place between August 30-31.
Rousseff was temporarily suspended for up to 180 days on May 12 and her vice-president, Michel Temer, took over the presidency on an interim basis.
Rousseff made the proposal Tuesday in a letter to lawmakers and the Brazilian people as the Senate readies to vote on whether to permanently remove her from office.
Insisting again on her innocence, Rousseff said that a Senate vote to cut her term short would constitute a coup.
Last year, during what was dubbed a “mini-electoral reform”, legislators argued that reducing the campaign period would be cheaper for candidates and political parties. “I would like not to have to endure fraud and injustice”.
On Aug. 29, Rousseff will have 30 minutes to speak, then face questioning. She describes the impeachment as a farce and her alleged crimes as no more than “routine acts of budgetary management”. “I accept these criticisms with humility and determination so that we can build a new way forward”.
In the letter, Rousseff reiterated her denial of the accusations, adding that her forced removal from office would amount to “a coup”.
However, holding an early election requires a constitutional amendment, and faces opposition from within Rousseff’s leftist Workers’ Party.
The suspended president’s popularity has plunged amid Brazil’s worst recession in 80 years and an explosive corruption scandal centered on state oil giant Petrobras.
According to GloboNews, Justice Teori Zavascki’s ruling has given prosecutor general Rodrigo Janot permission to look for additional evidence that Rousseff sought to name Lula to a cabinet post to help him avoid prosecution.
In a statement, Rousseff’s aide denied the accusation, saying the investigation against Rousseff and Lula will allow “the truth to prevail”.
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The decision is likely to escalate pressure on the two leading political figures, whose Workers Party is ensnared in an ongoing bribes-for-state contracts scandal known in Brazil as ‘operation auto wash’.
