Court decision allows President Rousseff to fly on Air Force planes

The ruling lays out one condition: travel costs are to be refunded by

Publicado em 24/06/2016 - 19:07 Por Daniel Isaia, correspondent from Agência Brasil - Porto Alegre

A federal court in Rio Grande do Sul authorized suspended President Dilma Rousseff to use airplanes of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) in her travels across the country. The ruling, issued by Judge Daniela Cristina de Oliveira Pertile and made public on Thursday (Jun. 23), lays out one condition: travel costs are to be refunded by Rousseff or her Workers' Party (PT). Before the decision, her use of FAB aircrafts had been limited by a recommendation from the office of the interim president's chief of staff to trips between the cities of Porto Alegre and Brasília.

The court ruling comes in response to a motion filed by Rousseff against the federal government, in which she claims her suspension from office does not strip her of her official prerogatives. Under acting President Michel Temer, the temporarily ousted president was banned from using FAB aircrafts, as well as from being accompanied by advisers on official trips and making use of the nomenclature of her personal cabinet. The petition also mentions that it does not fall under the power of the Executive branch to revise or restrain the Senate's decision which temporarily removed her from office.

In its defense, the federal government argued that official air transport should only be put to use for the public interest, and is therefore unfit for engagements not included in the official agenda.

Judge Pertile understands that Rousseff's trips on FAB airplanes are necessary to ensure the personal safety of the suspended president, who should fly on regular, commercial planes. The decision also allows her advisers to fly under the same terms, including the refund conditions, and preserves the structure of Rousseff's personal cabinet.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Court decision allows President Rousseff to fly on Air Force planes

Edição: Fábio Massalli / Olga Bardawil

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