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BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT DILMA Rousseff has been suspended to face impeachment, ceding power to her vice-president-turned-enemy Michel Temer in a political earthquake ending 13 years of leftist rule over Latin America’s biggest nation.
A nearly 22-hour debate in the Senate closed with an overwhelming 55-22 vote against Brazil’s first female president. Pro-impeachment senators broke into applause and posed for selfies and congratulatory group photos in the blue-carpeted, circular chamber.
Only a simple majority of the 81-member Senate had been required to suspend Rousseff for six months pending judgement on charges that she broke budget accounting laws. A trial could now take months, with a two-thirds majority vote eventually needed to force Rousseff, 68, from office altogether.
Within hours, Temer, from the center-right PMDB party, was to take over as interim president, drawing the curtain on more than a decade of dominance by Rousseff’s leftist Workers’ Party.
He is preparing to announce a new government and has said his priority is to address Brazil’s worst recession in decades and end the paralysis gripping Congress during the battle over Rousseff.
A one-time Marxist guerrilla tortured under the country’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, Rousseff has denounced the impeachment drive as a coup and vowed to fight on during her trial.
She was expected to be officially notified of the vote’s result at 10am (1pm Irish time) today and was planning to address the nation around the same time. A crowd of supporters was gathering outside the presidential palace to salute her as she drove off, a spokesman for the Workers’ Party told AFP.
Battered by multiple crises
Due to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in less than three months, Brazil is struggling to stem economic disarray and handle the fallout from a corruption scandal reaching deep into the political and business elite.
The latest target of a sprawling probe into the graft was Senator Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in the 2014 presidential elections - and who was one of the senators voting to impeach Rousseff. The Supreme Court authorised a probe into his alleged bribe taking and money laundering overnight.
The multiple crises have wreaked havoc on the Workers’ Party, whose transformative social programmes have lifted tens of millions of people from poverty since 2003, but which has been portrayed as increasingly incapable of governing.
Senate President Renan Calheiros, who oversaw the proceedings, told reporters that impeachment would be “traumatic”.
And divisions were plain to see outside Congress, where police erected a giant metal fence to keep apart small rival groups of demonstrators. Riot police pepper sprayed a group of Rousseff supporters late last night and pro and anti-impeachment protesters also scuffled briefly in Rio.
Even though the impeachment vote came in the middle of the night, residents in central Sao Paulo – Brazil’s financial center and an opposition stronghold – set off fire crackers, banged pots and yelled “Dilma out!” from their windows.
‘Stain’ or ‘new day’?
Senators made their cases in 15-minute blocks, alternately describing Rousseff as the cause of Brazil’s humiliating economic decline or defending her as victim of a coup in a deeply corrupt political system.
Jose Eduardo Cardozo, Rousseff’s attorney general, delivered a passionate closing statement, telling senators that they were “condemning an honest, innocent woman” whose supposed crimes amounted to nothing more than a long accepted accounting practice.
“If this is carried out, it will break constitutional order. If it goes through, it will be a coup that leaves a stain on our history,” he said.
But Neves – who is just one of dozens of senators facing or who have faced criminal cases – said “Brazil can now start to turn a new page”.
“I have no doubt that Brazil will have a new opportunity and we need to unite,” he said.
Even some of those opposing Rousseff doubt that a change of power will resolve the country’s underlying problems of corruption and mismanagement.
Pro-impeachment protester Sulineide Rodrigues said that even if she wanted Rousseff out, she had few hopes for Temer improving things.
“We don’t think Temer will be any better,” said Rodrigues, 59.
But you know what we’ll do? We’ll keep coming back and keep having impeachments until there’s someone there who listens to us Brazilians.
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That’s good, democracy matters and shouldn’t be ignored just because financially they are a powerhouse
@JC O’Connachain: you’re right, but I was a bit put of by “As democratically elected legislators” from someone who was explicitly unelected by the people. Looking through the list, it is a collection of previously elected people trying to issue sanctions on a country with blatant human rights issues, but doing from the safety of their unelected ivory towers.
@Brynþór Patrekursson: how exactly does this work? Does the govt here sign up Ireland to the list or is it that Ireland has signed up to it because some unelected individuals have signed us up to IPAC?
@JC O’Connachain: China is a dïsgusting country. What we’re seeing now from the CCP is an exact replica of Nazi Germany with infringements and false claims to neighbouring countries territories and claims to the entire south China sea. Not to mention the cultural genocide inflicted on the Tibetan, uighir and Mongol peoples.
It’s adorable that you think this has anything to do with “democracy” rather than our own western economic power houses trying to form an iron clad trade bloc to hobble China.
@SJF: Not as adorable as you with your shirt, tie and wee stethoscope!!
@SJF: whatever spin they put on it I don’t care, this should have been done 10 years ago, who wants a future world financially controlled by the Chinese, also sick of 9 out of ten items that comes into my home having made in China on the box and then breaking after 2 weeks to 6 months, lol
@Hugo Bugo: Well the western powers plundered China for decades..In less than 70 years China has become on par with the U.S.and Europe in Economic matters. It must gaul the Impearlist nations and especially the U.S. they backed the wrong horse and Lost China. It still rankles the U.S.
@SJF: what you say is true. But it’s also true that China has some horrific human rights abuses. There is always going to be that factor of interested parties, money to be made etc… But that doesn’t mean we turn a cheek to concentration camps in Xinjiang. We also have a right to stand up for our own citizens, and yes the EU as a trading bloc has a right to protect itself against China, US or any other economic powers. And of course, China does try to hobble its own competitors? The news in Asia is full of it. So yes, economic plays but kinda justified.
@SJF: shush, now. We’ve always been at (cold) war with EastAsia. Even that time Xi got that state visit to Britain in 2015 — we were always at war with EastAsia. In fact that didn’t happen. Fake news.
(Orwell was wrong about needing NewSpeak to control the masses.).
@Hugo Bugo: the idea that the Chinese can’t manufacture good quality items is a myth. They have the world’s best industrial processes. 10 years ago many of the signatories to this document were celebrating globalisation and outsourcing, and many still are. Provided China provided cheap labour it was fine. Now that it competes on technology and challenges the US empire in its backyard, it’s evil.
@Donal Desmond: most of Europe isn’t, or hasn’t been, imperial. It’s really the US that has its nose out of joint because China is becoming independent of US imperialism. The EU needs to stay out of this, and it is looking like it mostly is.
@Petulant mcbarity: Up to the end of WW1 all major powers in Europe.. England, France, Germany, Russia Italy, Portugal also U.S.Japan had major territory and economic concessions in China. At the end of WW2 British interests included Shanghai and Hong Kong..by then the major player was the U.S. who backed a dictatorship and Lost. To this day it rankles the U.S. on how to use their phrase (Lost China.).
@Hugo Bugo: How did these 9 out of ten items come into your home? You need a burglar alarm. O no! They’re imported from China too.
I think McDowell should look closer to home if he wants to cast his gaze at extreme far left communism. The proposed “right to housing” bill supported by many elected TD’s contains in part 2, (3) the right to seize property “for the common good.” Many of the most heinous crimes in the history of humanity have been built on the foundations of “the common good.”
“The State, accordingly, shall delimit the right to private property where it is necessary
to ensure the common good and to vindicate the said right to housing for all residents
of Ireland.”
https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2020/21/eng/initiated/b2120d.pdf
@Seamus Hanratty: Straight out of the CCP playbook too. I can’t see this passing a referendum, maybe on the second or third time they put it on us.
@Seamus Hanratty: Well we all know where capitalist banks and big business facilitated by the political parties that are again in power has got us. Our grandchildren will still be paying for this gangsterism.
Seems the journal has a bit of China syndrome as well, why are the comments closed on the hunger strike misinformation article????
Awe but thy make everything we buy.
And allow child labour supported by big brands…
@Eddie Michael: don’t forget the virus, sharing nation.
@Eddie Michael: Then why buy it. From Penny’s to Brand names products are made cheaply in the far East, Yet the western companies thave no problem that their profits are produced by child Labour. Remember it was the Regan /Thatcher free markets who gave the go ahead for big business to move their plants to cheaper countries .
@Dave Barrett: an engineered virus….
@Eddie Michael: agreed. Will WHO agree with us though. There was 13 different variants in Wuhan well before Christmas.
@Eddie Michael: China broke the world.
So the Chinese government aren’t such a great bunch of lads after all?
@mikeinclon: have a look at what they are up to in the South China Sea. I’m guessing there will be military conflict there within a few years.
@Paul Furey: they’ve economically clobbered all the concerned nations into accepting their 9 dash line. There’s still the odd article in Asia on it but they’ve generally accepted it now at the political level with favours from China. The US might cause a war over it, Vietnam may resist China on it (they’re toughness personified) and US-Vietnamese meetings on the subject did take place, but I think they came to nothing. ROC also disagree but then PRC is just looking for an excuse to invade so I can’t see them kicking up too much a fuss, unless the US leverage their weapons supply to get them to proclaim their opposition more.
@Paul Furey: They are the only nation in the world that wants the nine dash line, while it infringes on the territory of at least 6 countries. But because they are the ones that make maps, they put the 9 dash line on all maps made in China. The Vietnamese HATE this, and especially now that China is doing a salami strategy of building one military base on an uninhabited island, and then another, and then another…..and BOOM! now its China’s, the rest of the world has no say.
There needs to be a tougher stance on the one China policy. No other nation has territorial disputes with as many neighbours as they do.
@Paul Cunningham: you sure about that? It’s nothing to do with ROC? 1947? Lol
Jeez
@Ní neart go cur le chéile.: this thread really took a turn to the serious from my poor attempt at a Fr. Ted joke. Interesting stuff though lads.
@mikeinclon: lol, when years ago first saw this “great bunch of lads” saying, was wondering why saying that, after watch the father … lol
As soon as China learns that the Healy Reas are against them it will know that the end is nigh.
Ireland is being a good little сhickwawa. The US master says bark and of we go and ineffectively bark. Irish politicians should be developing reactions with China and seek to understand in depth Chinese business, social and political culture. It would also make sense to understand who motivated the Hong Kong groups last year and for what purpose. Ireland should take a position of supporting a strong and stable China. One should remember that a one party system in China is equivalent to our Dail. There are many divisions in the party and democratic structures at these levels. Introducing another party is like having another constitution in Ireland. It is about time that our school teacher politician mentality grew into a university professor way of looking at things.
@THINK Paddy THINK: What utter rubbish! You are a cheerleader for a one party police state.
China is struggling to control a vast area and a myriad of different groups through the use of re-education camps, state propaganda and outright force.
The respective governments of Ireland and China are polar opposites. The Dail is a parliament elected by the people. The CCP is unelected and therefore it is tyrannical by default. Your claim of democracy within such tyranny is hilarious because it is ludicrous. There have been factions in every dictatorship in history, that didn’t make any difference to the people being ruled and oppressed. Who do you think is fooled by such BS?
@Will: Bit like when the U.S. had their camps in South East Asia… You conveniently fail to mention what the U.S. version of democracy did in Vietnam, Loas, Cambodia. The fact America lost China by backing a despot also seems to escape you.
@Will: i forgot to mention the senate in Ireland probably a better analogy. Nonetheless., Ireland is a pseudo democracy in that opposing views are not respected and pissed upon (IRA, Anti LGBTZ, Sinn Fein, etc). Not every view is tolerated. So why can you not respect a different political system where not every view is also not tolerated.
So in summary: Not a great bunch of lads?
Can we join the states and Canada in officially calling Xinjiang a genocide now?
The population of China is approximately 1.4 billion people.
@Philip Mulville: I’m sure the Chinese government use most of their time to analyse the views of Irish senators
I am completely opposed to Ireland joining the U.S. led coalition against the People’s Republic of China, a country that has taken more out of poverty than any country in history and whose handling of Uighur terrorists is a lesson in how to deal with this issue compared to the U.S. and West’s policy of indiscriminate bombing and massacres of all and sundry including thousands of innocent civilians. I believe there is much more and better democracy in China than in the facade of four year voting in Ireland and the West
@Brian Smyth: Why were they in poverty in the first place?
Yep, the CCP.
@TonyB: The Chinese revolution and the defeat of the foreign invaders was led by the Communist Party of China. The amazing progress of that country from serfs of the imperial powers to the stunning progress that has been made is down to the CCP. It doesn’t matter what the commentators in the west think, it’s what the people of China know to be true that matters.
Welcome to the party Ireland. Be prepared for some economic pushback from the CCP bullies but standing up to bullies is always the best way to go.
@TonyB: China stood up to the bullying of Impearlist powers and won.
have your say