Brazil's Rousseff Under Pressure
May 9 2016 By Abiodun Giwa
Impeachment fever in Brazil against President Dilma Rousseff (Courtesy:BBC)
Impeachment proceedings? It is one topic that supporters of leaders around the world dread, but which opposition members are never shy of using to call erring leaders to their shortcomings. And if necessary, use it, to boot out leaders,who have failed to follow the Constitution.
But It is rarely used, because no leader wants to be booted out of office, ensuring little or no disrespect is shown toward the Constitution.
People agree that a leader does not have to be a bad leader to come under the impeachment investigation, if found to have disrespected the Constitution, and the movers for impeachment can get enough number of votes as required by the Constitution.
During investigations, the leader being investigated is under pressure to show cause, just like the current experience of President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, who is undergoing impeachment investigation. She has told her supporters to be cautious, following annulment of one vote in the impeachment proceedings by the acting speaker in the lower house, allowing the proceeding against the president to go to the senate.
The senate's vote on Wednesday will determine whether or not there would be an impeachment trial against Rousseff. Yet, Roussef had spoken about her determination to show cause, over accusations that she hid the scale of the budget deficit, according to a BBC report. She is accused of manipulating the government budget ahead of her re-election in 2014. The president has defended her fiscal measures as common practice in Brazil.
However, she has promised to fight her accusers to the end, and among them is the vice-president, Michel Temer, who is also expected to step into her shoes, if she is impeached.
President Rousseff has accused the vice-president and her other accusers of a coup, suggesting a power struggle after the mass protests by Brazilians against the World Cup and lack of attention for the ordinary people. Some observers see Rousseff's statement in which she said that the accusation against her is a common practice in the country as a confirmation of the rot concerning a leader doing what everyone else is doing.
Ironically, Rousseff has not said the accusation against her is wrong, but that what she has done with the budget, which her accusers say is unconstitutional, is a common practice in the country. Just as she seems to be ready for the worst outcome, she is also speaking about possibility of being absolved.
But It is rarely used, because no leader wants to be booted out of office, ensuring little or no disrespect is shown toward the Constitution.
People agree that a leader does not have to be a bad leader to come under the impeachment investigation, if found to have disrespected the Constitution, and the movers for impeachment can get enough number of votes as required by the Constitution.
During investigations, the leader being investigated is under pressure to show cause, just like the current experience of President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, who is undergoing impeachment investigation. She has told her supporters to be cautious, following annulment of one vote in the impeachment proceedings by the acting speaker in the lower house, allowing the proceeding against the president to go to the senate.
The senate's vote on Wednesday will determine whether or not there would be an impeachment trial against Rousseff. Yet, Roussef had spoken about her determination to show cause, over accusations that she hid the scale of the budget deficit, according to a BBC report. She is accused of manipulating the government budget ahead of her re-election in 2014. The president has defended her fiscal measures as common practice in Brazil.
However, she has promised to fight her accusers to the end, and among them is the vice-president, Michel Temer, who is also expected to step into her shoes, if she is impeached.
President Rousseff has accused the vice-president and her other accusers of a coup, suggesting a power struggle after the mass protests by Brazilians against the World Cup and lack of attention for the ordinary people. Some observers see Rousseff's statement in which she said that the accusation against her is a common practice in the country as a confirmation of the rot concerning a leader doing what everyone else is doing.
Ironically, Rousseff has not said the accusation against her is wrong, but that what she has done with the budget, which her accusers say is unconstitutional, is a common practice in the country. Just as she seems to be ready for the worst outcome, she is also speaking about possibility of being absolved.
