Students comment on Brazil’s impeachment

In Brazil, tensions are rising after the country’s first female president has been thrown from power by the senate. Tens of thousands are taking to the streets to protest, while anti-riot police use water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades to break them up. At Tilburg University, Brazilian students are following the political situation in their home country with close attention. What do they think?

“They believe they’ve defeated us, but they’re wrong. I know we will all fight”, said an emotional Dilma Rousseff after she was thrown out of office by the Brazilian senate. A large majority of the senate voted for the removal of Brazil’s first female leader on August 31, finding her guilty of manipulating state funds in an attempt to cover up the country’s growing economic problems.

The leftist president was replaced by right-wing politician Michel Temer, her former vice president and a driving force behind the impeachment. Rousseff’s political ally-turned-enemy has repeatedly stated that he wants to “calm the nation” and “unite Brazil”, but the country seems more polarized than ever. Although Brazilian students at Tilburg University have different opinions about Rousseff’s impeachment, they all seem to agree on one thing: Temer will not bring unity to Brazil.

Coup d’état

Tens of thousands have responded to Rousseff’s call to fight. In São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other cities, outraged Brazilians have been marching in mass protests ever since the impeachment. They believe Rousseff has become the victim of a sophisticated coup, carried out by her corrupted and power-hungry political opponents.

“This is not an impeachment, it’s a coup d’état”

“This is not an impeachment, it’s a parliamentary coup. Dilma has not committed any crimes”, says Rousseff-supporter Lucas Pascolatti (25), who studies Global Communication at Tilburg University. “Only days after she was thrown from power, the government adopted a new law that states it’s not a crime to do what Dilma had just been impeached for.”

Lucas believes the motive behind the impeachment is revenge: “The impeachment process was set in motion by Eduardo Cunha, as an act of vengeance because Dilma’s party refused to help him evade his corruption charges.”

Protests

Lucas is from São Paulo, where the biggest demonstrations took place. On Sunday after the impeachment trial, protests ended in a violent clash with riot police. Police used stun grenades, water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. “The protests are being heavily repressed. Police don’t respect human rights, especially in black neighborhoods.”

Bruna Brilhante (21), who is a Law student at Tilburg University, says her friends in Rio are protesting every day. “I would join them if I could”, she says. “You can’t just stay quiet and do nothing.”

“My friends in Rio are protesting every day”

Like Lucas, Bruna believes that Rousseff was pushed from power in a parliamentary coup. She sees no legal grounds for the impeachment. “Under Brazilian law, you can’t just be impeached”, she explains. “If you know the law, you know that this impeachment isn’t in agreement with it.”

Rousseff was accused of breaking fiscal laws by using money from state banks to close gaps in the budget. She hasn’t been accused of any personal enrichment or corruption, unlike many of the politicians who turned on her – including Michel Temer, who can’t run in any future elections because he has been convicted of fraud. “Dilma’s accusers are themselves accused of crimes that are far worse”, Bruna points out.

Democracy

According to Economics student Júlia Varejão (21), Rousseff’s impeachment was a far cry from a democratic procedure. “I am not necessarily pro-Dilma, but I really think the impeachment doesn’t represent democracy.”

“A lot of Brazilians are angry because there was no reason to impeach Dilma. There is no real evidence against her”, Júlia says. “Besides, people don’t think it’s fair that the votes of the 61 politicians who were in favor of putting Dilma out of office, should weigh heavier than the 54,4 million votes of the Brazilians that elected her as president in the first place.”

“This is not democracy”

Not only did the senate impeach a popularly elected president without solid proof, but they also replaced her with a president who is so corrupted that he has already been declared ineligible for office. For Júlia, that’s not democracy.

So what do the protesters hope to achieve? “Ultimately, they want Temer to leave and Dilma to become our president again”, Júlia says.

According to Lucas, the protests are not just ‘pro-Dilma’. “We’re not just protesting for Dilma, for democracy and for new elections, but also against Temer, against the coup, against the right wing, and against the heavily biased media.”

Corruption

Júlia believes that for corrupted Brazilian politicians, impeaching Rousseff was as a means to reduce the risks of prosecution for themselves. “It’s all about other politicians trying to cover up their own wrongdoings and escape punishment.”

“Many of the current ministers are involved in corruption, embezzlement, money laundering or electoral fraud”

Exchange student Elisangela Rosario (38) also believes that corrupt Brazilian politicians have seized power to escape corruption charges. “I think that’s definitely one the motives behind the impeachment”, she says. “Many of the current ministers are involved in corruption, embezzlement, money laundering or electoral fraud. They are much more likely to avoid prosecution now that they are in power.”

Betrayal

Unlike other Brazilian students at Tilburg University, Elisangela doesn’t think the impeachment process was a coup. “From a strictly legal perspective, I think the impeachment process was legitimate. It was based on a constitutional mechanism that stems from 1950, but, still, I believe the law was followed.”

“I understand that people wanted Dilma to leave, but I’m not comfortable with the way she was pushed out”

Although she believes the impeachment was legal, Elisangela doesn’t support it. “Economically, Dilma’s governance was a disaster. Her last term was really terrible, so I understand why people wanted her to leave”, she explains. “But I’m not comfortable with the way she was pushed out. I think it was a betrayal.”

Rousseff’s mistake, Elisangela says, was teaming up with the wrong people. “She’s not very good at making alliances. In many ways, she’s very inflexible. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think it made her vulnerable. In the end, she paid the price. Her political partners betrayed her, and many politicians changed sides when they knew she was going to fall.”

Economic decline

Despite never losing an election since 2010, Rousseff lost popularity with the public and in congress because of the deep economic recession and a massive corruption scandal at state-controlled oil company Petrobras, which involved almost all the major parties.

“Dilma is an economist, but she made some very poor decisions”

Economics student Gabriel Wainstok (21) thinks Rousseff’s rule damaged the Brazilian economy significantly. “Dilma is an economist, but she made some very poor decisions”, he says. He agrees with the impeachment: “I wasn’t happy when Dilma was impeached, because I think impeachment is never a good thing. It’s a failure of the government. But I do think she needed to go.”

Under Rousseff’s administration, the high budget deficit and the massive bribery scandal surrounding Petrobras have severely impacted Brazil’s economy, Gabriel explains. “Right now, Petrobras is one of the most indebted companies in the world. Foreign investment ratings are very low.”

“Economically, the country is doing better”

He hopes the new government can bring some economic relief. “Since Temer has served as acting president, the country is doing better economically. It’s obviously too soon to tell whether that’s the result of Temer’s governance, but he has put together a good economic team.”

A new era?

Michel Temer has promised a “new era” for Brazil. But how is this new era any different from the one that the current administration has put an end to? Many of the senators who voted in favor of impeachment, are under investigation for corruption crimes. Moreover, Elisangela points out that Temer is every bit as guilty of any wrongdoings that Rousseff is held accountable for: “He was part of her government, so he is also to blame. But he didn’t get punished.”

“Temer named an all-white, all-male, all rich cabinet”

Can Temer deliver on his promise to build a new and united Brazil? Lucas doesn’t think so. “Temer named an all-white, all-male, all-rich cabinet, while Brazil is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world and fifty percent of its population is female.”

Clean slate

Elisangela thinks the only way to start a new era, is by having new elections. “I’m disappointed. A lot of people are, also those who accept the impeachment”, she says. “Brazil needs a clean slate. We still have a corruption-tainted parliament, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Brazil needs a clean slate”

Gabriel doesn’t think that new elections would provide Brazil with a clean slate. “If we hold elections now, the same people would run. Nothing would be different”, he says. “To be honest, I don’t know who I would vote for right now. But I do know that Temer is not going to reunite Brazil. He’s too tainted. We need a new leader, and we need new political parties.”

Divide

The tense political situation has caused a divide between Brazilians. “On both sides, there’s a lot of anger and hate”, Elisangela says. “So it can be difficult to have an open discussion about it. Especially on social media, things have really become heated. I’ve tried to keep my distance a little bit, because I don’t like the aggression.”

“People are very emotionally involved”

Gabriel says that some of his closest friends are against the impeachment, unlike him. “We do have discussions sometimes. I think we should try to be open-minded about it. But some of my friends stay away because they know what I think. Sadly, I’ve lost a few friendships. People are very emotionally involved”, Gabriel says. “In Brazil, politics is personal.”

Michel Temer will most likely stay on as president for the remaining two years of Dilma Rousseff’s term. Most Brazilians at Tilburg University seem to hope that in the presidential elections of 2018, Brazil will not just change its government, but its politics altogether.