Dilma Rousseff defiant amid calls for resignation over corruption scandal
Brazilian president stands firm, saying in an interview she is ‘not a weak woman’ and any attempt to remove her would be illegal and harmful to the country
Dilma Rousseff has said she would never resign despite corruption allegations, as the scandal threatening her government escalated with dozens of new arrests. Photograph: Roberto Stuckert/Filho/PR
Dilma Rousseff has said she would never resign despite corruption allegations, as the scandal threatening her government escalated with dozens of new arrests. Photograph: Roberto Stuckert/Filho/PR
Thursday 24 March 2016
A defiant President Dilma Rousseff has insisted that there is no legal justification for her impeachment and warned that any attempt to remove her from power illegally would leave lasting scars on Brazilian democracy.
In a 90-minute interview with six foreign media organizations in Planalto, the presidential palace, Olympic Games, due to take place in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Over the past few weeks, Brazil has been shaken by huge anti-government protests, as revelations over the country’s worst-ever corruption scandal add momentum to an impeachment process that began in December.
The president’s attempt to appoint her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to cabinet last week – in what critics argue is a move to shield him from prosecution – added to widespread public outrage at politicians’ impunity and prompted calls for Rousseff’s resignation.
“Why do they want me to resign? Because I am a weak woman? I’m not,” she said, arguing that her political rivals wanted her to stand down “to avoid the difficulty of removing – unduly, illegally and criminally – a legitimately elected president from power”.
Pushed as to why it was necessary for Lula to become a minister, rather than serve as an adviser, Rousseff said he had repeatedly turned down her requests to join her government, but now that the crisis had deepened he was doing it as a service for Brazil.
“I became his cabinet chief in 2005 in the middle of the mensalão [cash-for-votes scandal],” she said. “I know I helped him then, and I know he can help me now.”
