Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office at the
end of August, 2016. The state’s senate voted 61-20 to convict her on charges
that she used illegal bookkeeping maneuvers to hid a growing budget deficit.[1]
Her defense that she did not enrich herself through public office—that she did
not steal public money for her own account—can be regarded as an attempt to
deflect the legislators from the existing charges.[2]
Only 56 legislators were necessary for a two-thirds majority. Given the
problems of hyperinflation and fiscal mismanagement, including a growing public
debt, her offenses were “deemed an impeachable crime.”[3]
Although Brazil was hardly the only country where the chief executive has sought
under political pressure to make a budget deficit look smaller than it actually
was, enforcing deterring consequences even just in this case is laudable—while
other, partisan motives, detracted from the vote’s legitimacy.
The complete essay is at "Partisan Impeachment in Brazil?"
1. Paulo Trevisani and Reed Johnson, “Brazilian President Rousseff Ousted,” The Wall Street Journal, September 1,
2016.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
