Rapporteur in Rousseff's case recommends trial by Senate
In his final report on the institution phase of the impeachment case against suspended President Dilma Rousseff, Senator Antonio Anastasia (of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, the PSDB) recommends that the temporarily ousted president be brought before the Senate for trial. 
In his final report on the institution phase of the impeachment case against suspended President Dilma Rousseff, Senator Antonio Anastasia (of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, the PSDB) recommends that the temporarily ousted president be brought before the Senate for trial. In the document, submitted to the Senate's Special Impeachment Commission on Tuesday (Aug. 2), the lawmaker argues that Rousseff opened supplementary credit without congressional permission and carried out credit transactions with a financial institution controlled by the federal government—the so-called fiscal backpedaling.
The senator added that the economic crisis facing Brazil today comes as a result of what he described as the “unsustainable expansion in public spending” allowed to take place in Dilma Rousseff's administration. He highlights that the fiscal devices and maneuvers used in a bid to increase expenditures led to the loss of confidence among economic agents, investors, natural persons, and caused an impact on both the current figures in the economy and the country's economic future, apart from the major credit risking agencies' decision to downgrade Brazil's investment grade status.
“These actions are serious, and represent an attack not just against fiscal responsibility, but also, above all, against the prerogatives of the National Congress. Even though the fiscal policy is implemented by the Executive branch, it can only be made legitimate through the approval of the Legislative, which is the biggest representative of the Brazilian society.”
The 441-page document claims that Dilma Rousseff violated eight principles, namely that of planning, prudence, transparency, separation of branches, balance of public accounts, and legality.
“Firstly, lack of fiscal control undermines the sustainability of public policies on services crucial to society, which constitute nothing but what the government offers its citizens in exchange for taxes. Secondly, the lack of balance in public accounts aggravates public indebtedness and causes an impact on a number of economic indicators (like inflation, the GDP, unemployment, and interest rates), which, in turn, will be detrimental to the population's quality of life. Finally, the Legislative branch, which is society's resonance chamber, must not tolerate having its constitutional budget monitoring and control duties usurped by the Executive. Democracy also requires the control over public money on society's part.”
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Rapporteur in Rousseff's case recommends trial by Senate
