The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dilma Rousseff

  • Brazilian unions call nationwide strike

    Brazilian unions called nationwide strikes on Friday to protest President Michel Temer’s efforts to reduce social security benefits and weaken labor laws, with disruption expected to road and rail transport, factories and schools.

    Many workers were expected to heed the strike call, due in part to anger about reforms that will force many Brazilians to work for years longer before drawing a pension.

    The strike will also extend a holiday weekend ahead of Labour Day on Monday.

    If successful, the protest would mark Brazil’s first general strike in more than two decades.

    In Brasilia, the capital, authorities boarded up windows of government buildings on Thursday amid fears that protests could result in violent clashes between demonstrators and police.

    Demonstrations were scheduled in other major cities across the Latin American nation of more than 200 million people.

    “It is going to be the biggest strike in the history of Brazil,” said Paulo da Silva, the president of trade union group Forca Sindical.

    Violent protests have occurred repeatedly during the past four years amid political turmoil, Brazil’s worst recession on record, and unprecedented corruption investigations that revealed stunning levels of systematic graft among politicians.

    Nearly a third of Temer’s cabinet and key congressional allies came under investigation in the scandal this month, worsening his dismal approval ratings since taking office in 2016 after the impeachment of ex-President Dilma Rousseff.

    Rousseff’s Workers Party grew out of the labour movement, and her allies have called her removal for breaking budget rules an illegitimate “coup,” contributing to political polarisation in Brazil and hardline union resistance to Temer’s agenda.

    Vagner Freitas, the national president of the Central Workers Union (CUT), Brazil’s biggest labour confederation, said the government’s reforms “leave no room to negotiate.”

    “Temer does not even want to negotiate, he just wants to meet the demands of the businessmen who financed the ‘coup’ precisely to end social security and legalise the exploitation of workers,” Freitas said in a statement.

    A spokesman for Temer rejected the union criticism, saying the government was working to undo the economic damage wrought under the previous Workers Party government, which had the backing of the CUT.

    “The inheritance of that was 13 million unemployed.

    The government is carrying out reforms to change this situation, to create jobs and economic growth,” said spokesman Marcio de Freitas.

  • Ecuador condemns Rousseff’s impeachment

    Ecuador condemns Rousseff’s impeachment

    …Says it’s an overlapping coup d’état

    The Government of Ecuador has strongly condemned Wednesday impeachment of Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff.

    Consequently, the government of Ecuador has recalled for consultations its charge d’affairs to the Federal Tepublic of Brazil.

    Venezuela government had earlier recalled its ambassador and freeze relations with Brazil.

    Ms. Roussess was impeached on allegation of budget padding, which is illegal under Brazilian law. Sixty-one senators voted in favour of her impeachment and twenty against.

    Ecuadorian Embassy in a press statement issued in Abuja Thursday described the impeachment as “an Overlapping coup d’état and blatant subversion of democratic order in Brazil.”

    The statement further claimed that the impeachment procedures failed to meet the fundamental requirement of proving that the president has committed crimes accused of.

    The statement reads in part: “In the face of this painful event, the Government of Ecuador has decided to recall for consultations to its charge d’affaires to the Federative Republic of Brazil.

    “This unfortunate event is unacceptable in the XXI (21) century, and poses a serious threat to the stability of our region and constitute a grave setback in the consolidation of the democracy that so much effort and sacrifice has meant to our people.

    “We discourage the blatant subversion of democratic order in Brazil, that we consider an overlapping coup d’état. Political opponents and other opposition forces conspired against the democracy to destabilize the government and remove President Dilma Rousseff from office illegitimately.

    “The spurious procedure of dismissal carried out by the legislative body, which culminated in the decision of her removal, failed to meet the fundamental requirement of proving that the President has committed crimes accused of.

    “We cannot ignore the fact that a significant number of decision makers in the process of political trial against the President are under investigation for acts of corruption.”

  • Brazil: Rousseff faces Senate in impeachment

    Brazil: Rousseff faces Senate in impeachment

    Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, has defended her record in office against the country’s Senate during her impeachment trial on Monday.

    A report from the senate said that the president rejected the charges of corruption, and warned of a threat to the country’s democracy.

    It said that the trial examined whether Rousseff was guilty of manipulating government accounts to obscure the country’s deteriorating budget situation during her 2014 re-election campaign.

    It added that she was also accused of authorising lines of credit without congressional approval.

    The report said that Rousseff, referencing the accusations, insisted that she did not commit a crime against her responsibility.

    “Rousseff said further that the leftist Workers Party (PT) is facing a coup” it said.

    The report said that a two-thirds majority of 54 votes in the 81-member senate was needed during the final debate and vote on Tuesday to remove the 68-year-old leader from office.

    The impeachment of Rousseff, who was suspended in May to allow for an investigation of allegations, would also disqualify her from office for eight years.

    Earlier this month, the senate voted 59-21 to indict Rousseff, suggesting the odds are heavily against her.

    Vice President Michel Temer, a member of the centre-right Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), then took over the presidency on an interim basis.

    Critics said that Rousseff’s exit would end more than 13 years of government by the Workers Party, which were marked by rise of Brazil as a global economic power under former president Luis da Silva.

    They noted that a severe economic crisis and several corruption scandals had since plunged the country into disrepute.

    They added that the rumours and controversy surrounding the impeachment had divided the country and damaged Brazil’s image abroad.

  • Brazil’s Rousseff to face impeachment trial

    Brazil’s Rousseff to face impeachment trial

    Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is to face trial after the Senate voted to impeach and suspend her.

    Ms Rousseff is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies.

    Senators voted to suspend her by 55 votes to 22 after an all-night session that lasted more than 20 hours, the BBC reports.

    Vice-President Michel Temer will now assume the presidency, while Ms Rousseff’s trial takes place.

    The trial may last up to 180 days, which would mean Ms Rousseff would be suspended during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which start on August 5.

    Ms Rousseff made a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected.

  • Brazil’s Senate in marathon impeachment debate

    Brazil’s Senate is debating whether President Dilma Rousseff should face a full impeachment trial.

    The majority of the senators have already said they will vote against the president, the BBC reports.

    If this is confirmed in a vote to be held later, Ms Rousseff will be automatically suspended from office.

    She is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies.

    Ms Rousseff made a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected.

    A lengthy debate is under way which precedes the actual vote. The Senate session opened more than 19 hours ago.

    There are a total of 81 senators in the upper house.

    At least 71 registered to speak during the debate and each has been given 15 minutes for their speech.

    Only after all of them have had their say will the electronic vote take place. This is not expected to happen before 06:00 local time (09:00GMT).

    The session has been a lot less passionate than that in the lower house on April 17 in which a overwhelming majority of the 513 lawmakers voted in favour of the impeachment proceedings going ahead.

    The members of the lower house cited all kinds of reason for their decision with many saying they were doing if “for my family”, “for God” or simply “the country.”

     

  • Brazil: Rousseff promises reform after poll win

    Brazil: Rousseff promises reform after poll win

    President Dilma Rousseff has promised to re-unite Brazil after narrowly winning re-election to a second term in office with 51.6% of the vote.

    She said “dialogue” would be her top priority after a bitterly fought campaign against centre-right candidate Aecio Neves, who got 48.4% of the vote.

    The left-wing leader said she wanted to be “a much better president than I have been until now”.

    She faced mass protests last year against corruption and poor services.

    But Ms Rousseff, who has been in power since 2010, remains popular with poor Brazilians thanks to her government’s welfare programmes.

    The vote split Latin America’s biggest country almost evenly in two, along lines of social class and geography.

    Whereas Dilma Rousseff did well in the poorer northern states, her opponent from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) took many of the wealthier and more developed southern parts of Brazil.

    After an acrimonious and closely fought campaign, Rousseff supporters were clearly relieved to have won

    Mr Neves’s supporters saw their chance of ousting the PT from power vanish for another term

    The president said that during the campaign “the word repeated most often was change and the idea most often invoked was reform”.

    The president’s appeal for unity and dialogue was an important recognition that, despite 12 years of tangible social benefits under Workers’ Party (PT) rule, millions of Brazilians are less than satisfied.

    The standards of public services across the country in health, education and basic sanitation are too low for a country that prides itself on having the seventh largest economy in the world.

    This government deserves credit for helping to bring millions of people out of poverty but, as a result, public expectations here are now much higher.

    By the time Dilma leaves office in 2018, the Workers’ Party will have been in power for 16 years.

    That may prove too much for some to bear but it is undeniable that life for most Brazilians has improved immeasurably during the PT’s mandate thus far.

    “It is my hope, or even better, my certainty that the clash of ideas can create room for consensus, and my first words are going to be a call for peace and unity,” she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia.

    “Instead of widening differences and creating a rift, I have the strong hope that we can use this energy to build bridges.”

    She also thanked her supporters, especially her political mentor and predecessor in office, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

  • Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff re-elected

    Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff re-elected

    Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected president of Brazil, after securing more than 51 per cent of votes in the closest election race in many years.

    An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48 per cent of the vote.

    In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be “a much better president than I have been until now.”

    She faced protests last year against corruption, record spending on the football World Cup and poor services.

    Ms Rousseff, who has been in power since 2010, is popular with poor Brazilians thanks to her government’s welfare programmes.

    But the vote split Latin America’s biggest country almost evenly in two, along lines of social class and geography.

    Ms Rousseff called on all Brazilians “to unite in favour of Brazil’s future” and said she would seek political reform.

    “This president is open to dialogue. This is the top priority of my second mandate,” she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia.

    She also thanked her supporters, especially her political mentor and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

    “I thank from the bottom of my heart our number one militant, President Lula.”

    Her re-election for a second term extends the rule of her Workers Party (PT), which came to power in 2002 with President Lula.

     

     

  • Brazilians vote in presidential run off

    Millions of Brazilians are set to vote for a new president in what is regarded as the tightest vote the country has seen in decades.

    Incumbent left-leaning President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party (PT) faces centrist Aecio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in the second run-off round.

    Both candidates have pledged to kick-start Latin America’s largest economy and make it more competitive.

    Voting opens at 08:00 (10:00 GMT).

    The latest opinion polls showed President Rousseff with a slight lead over the opposition candidate.

    A survey by pollster Datafolha gave her 52 per cent voter support against 48 per cent for Mr. Neves.

    A separate survey by polling firm Ibope gave the incumbent 53 per cent against 47 per cent for her challenger.

    Both polls had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 per cent.

    Poor Brazilians, particularly in the impoverished northeast, remain loyal to Dilma Rousseff thanks to her party’s trademark welfare programmes, such as the Bolsa Familia family grant scheme.

    She obtained her largest support there in the first round of the presidential election on October 5, with almost 60 per cent of votes.

    But wealthy Brazilians, who are against interventionist economic policies such as petrol price controls and high taxes, favour instead business-friendly Aecio Neves.

    He is regarded in the financial markets as someone to put the economy back on track, after four years of low growth rates with the country now technically in recession, the BBC says.

    More than 140 million Brazilians will vote on Sunday, but report says much will depend on who wins the middle-class vote in the industrialised southeast.

  • Brazil leader ‘dizzy’ after debate

    Brazil leader ‘dizzy’ after debate

    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she is in good health after a bout of dizziness at the end of a TV debate.

    The BBC reports that she was debating policy with her opponent in the presidential run-off vote on October 26, Aecio Neves.

    Latest polls say the two candidates are running neck and neck in what has become an increasingly bitter campaign.

    After the debate, Ms Rousseff issued a video on social media looking upbeat and saying she had experience a bout of low blood pressure but had recovered.

    She had appeared live on air after the debate, fumbling her words and saying she felt dizzy and had to sit down.

    “I think a debate demands a lot from people, so that is what happened to me. Now I am feeling better and can conclude my interview and apologise to the viewer but that is how it is,” she said on air.

    During the debate, Ms Rousseff accused her opponent of nepotism.

    Mr. Neves, hit back saying officials in the President’s Workers Party were implicated in a huge corruption scandal involving the state oil company, Petrobras.

    President Rousseff’s doctor said she had not eaten enough, and it was not necessary to give her a medical examination.

  • Rousseff, Neves go for run-off in Brazil

    Rousseff, Neves go for run-off in Brazil

    Brazil’s presidential race will go to a second round after incumbent Dilma Rousseff fell short of an outright victory in Sunday’s election.

    She received per cent of the vote and will face centre-right rival Aecio Neves, who won 34 per cent on October 26.

    In a surprise result, prominent environmentalist Marina Silva got only 21 per cent despite being a favourite at one stage, and is now out of the race, the BBC reports.

    Analysts now predict a tight contest as both candidates seek to pick up votes.

    Reacting to the result Ms Rousseff – who has served one four-year term as president – said people had expressed their rejection of “the ghosts of the past, recession and unemployment,” and vowed to continue to work for change.

    “I clearly understood the message from the streets and from the ballot boxes. The majority of Brazilians want us to speed up the Brazil we are building,” said Ms Rousseff, who is from the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT).

    Mr. Neves, 54, a senator and former governor of Minas Gerais State, called on Ms Silva’s supporters to back him, saying he represented “hope for change.”

    Ms Silva, 56, said she and other Socialist leaders would meet in the coming days to discuss any endorsements for the run-off.

    “Brazil has clearly signalled it is not for the status quo,” she told reporters in Sao Paulo.

    “There is no way to misinterpret the sentiment of voters, of the 60 per cent who moved for change,” she said.