In Brazil, accusers insist Rousseff committed impeachable offense

The fifth day of the impeachment trial against suspended President Dilma Rousseff at the Senate opened with statements from the prosecution.

One of the authors of the motion calling for impeachment, lawyer Janaína Paschoal stated Tuesday (Aug. 30) that the coup thesis, used by Rousseff's allies, is made invalid by the decrees enacted by the president, which lacked congressional approval. “We, the Brazilian people, were the victims of a fraud. We've been deceived,” she stated.

Paschoal drew parliamentarians' attention to the responsibility of trying the case and said that submitting the motion to Congress was a sign of her renewed confidence in the Brazilian Congress. “The impeachment case is a sad one, but it is not easy to request the ouster of a president. An impeachment case is a sad thing. There is a positive side to it, however, as the impeachment is a constitutional remedy we need to resort to in dire scenarios. Worse than the traumas of a case like this is pretending there's nothing going on. I hope we don't ever have to avail ourselves of it in the future. But we will, if necessary,” she said.

Dead body

Sharing the one hour and a half granted for the prosecution, lawyer Miguel Reale Junior, co-author of the motion calling for impeachment, adopted a more aggressive tone than his fellow to support the defendant's conviction.

Reale said that there was an illegal use of the state apparatus and that there is concrete evidence that a crime has been committed. "It's not just a formality, but the accurate verification of serious criminal acts. How come there is no no crime of responsibility? Yes, there is. There is a dead body and the air is filled with stench of this body. The crime was initially committed when official banks were used to finance the Treasury," he pointed out.

The lawyer insisted that the impeachment process shall not affect the Brazilian democratic regime. "The country does not want this anymore. A country that hosts the Olympics and undergoes an impeachment process without putting democracy at risk is a country that relies on its institutions, on its people."

According to Reale Júnior, senators are not committing any injustice when voting for impeachment. "They are getting justice, equivalent to serious acts committed," he added.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta/ Fabrício Ferreira

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