Things have turned really nasty in the other BRICS nation whose corruption-tainted President is desperately clinging onto power. Ever since the expose’ of “Operation Car Wash” involving billions of dollars plundered from Brazil’s state owned energy company, pressure has been building on the ruling political party and its leader President Dilma Rousseff. Things come to a head this week when legislators vote on an impeachment motion that, like South Africa’s requires a two third majority. But unlike SA’s President Jacob Zuma who could rely on the ANC’s solid majority to support him no matter what, Rousseff’s support has splintered after successive scandals implicated leaders of her socialist party, including her recently jailed predecessor Lula da Silva. This week could host her date with destiny. Given the Gupta moonlight flit and Nelson Mandela Foundation’s call for an “urgent” meeting, it could turn out to be Zuma’s too. – Alec Hogg Â
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(Bloomberg) —Â Brazilian security forces are deploying thousands of troops and erecting barricades in the capital city of Brasilia this week to prevent violent clashes as Congress holds key votes on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
The city’s rare state of alert reflects concern that the country’s polarized political climate will reach a fever pitch in coming days. Authorities on Sunday enlisted the help of inmates from a nearby prison to set up metal barriers that will separate the hundreds of thousands of Brazilians who are expected to demonstrate for and against the president’s ouster.
Protesters already are converging on Brasilia as the nation’s drawn-out political crisis moves into a decisive phase, with a special committee in the lower house scheduled to vote on Monday whether to move forward with the impeachment request against Rousseff. The full house could vote as early as April 17, either squelching impeachment or setting the stage for Rousseff’s ouster in the Senate.
An economic crisis that cost Brazil its coveted investment-grade rating and the corruption scandal known as Carwash that ensnared top executives and politicians have left Latin America’s largest nation deeply divided. Growing speculation that Rousseff is getting closer to being ousted buoyed the country’s assets last week. Yet many centrist legislators remain undecided whether to support Rousseff or side with Vice President Michel Temer, who would replace her and whose party abandoned the ruling alliance last month. Rousseff’s fate seems to be hanging in the balance, unlike former President Fernando Collor de Mello, who in 1992 was ousted by an overwhelming majority in both chambers of Congress.
Vote Tallies
As of Sunday evening, the anti-government organization VemPraRua said there were 286 votes for and 125 against impeachment in the house. A group of Rousseff allies, including members of her Workers’ Party, said there were 127 votes against the president’s ouster. If 342 of 513 lower house lawmakers back impeachment, the case moves to the Senate, which several analysts say would probably follow the lower chamber’s lead.
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Supporters of Rousseff and Temer in recent days have both sought to sway undecided legislators by offering them government posts. They have also squabbled over procedural issues that could slow the process and push back voting in the full house.
Demonstrators for and against Rousseff began arriving in Brasilia on Sunday and will be directed to congregate on opposite ends of the mall outside Congress. Police controls in downtown Brasilia will be set up on Monday, according to a statement from the government of the Federal District that includes Brasilia. Megaphones will be banned and children are recommended not to participate in demonstrations, it said.
Some 3,000 local police will be reinforced by troops of the National Force, Brazil’s equivalent of the U.S. National Guard, local media reported. Among the security measures is a prohibition to carry inflatable dolls, like the one of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in prison garb featured in recent weeks by protesters demanding he be locked up in relation to a sweeping corruption probe. He has denied wrongdoing.
Minor Skirmishes
More than 3 million people on March 13 demonstrated nationwide in favor of Rousseff’s ouster, a move that is supported by 61 percent of Brazilians, according to an April 7-8 Datafolha poll. Since mid-March, government supporters and dissenters have staged smaller protests with only minor skirmishes reported.
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Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo has said he could challenge the impeachment process before the Supreme Court, citing among other concerns insufficient legal grounds for her removal from office. Rousseff, 68, who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship that ended in 1985, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said that an impeachment process without sufficient evidence would amount to a coup.
The impeachment committee in the lower house will vote on a report presented last week that concluded Rousseff bypassed Congress in authorizing credits to mask a growing budget deficit. While the report is not binding, the vote to confirm or reject it is the first real barometer on the prospect for her ouster. Cardozo will present another defense of the president before the committee vote on Monday.
