Rousseff describes her ouster as second coup d'État in her lifetime
In an address delivered Wednesday (Aug. 31) at the Alvorada Palace residence, former President Dilma Rousseff said she suffered the second coup d'État in her lifetime.
In an address delivered Wednesday (Aug. 31) at the Alvorada Palace residence, former President Dilma Rousseff said she suffered the second coup d'État in her lifetime. “The first, the military coup—backed by the brutality of weapons, repression, and torture—hit me when I was a young activist. The second, the parliamentary coup sealed today by means of a legal farce, removes me from the post to which I was elected by the people.”
Rousseff dubbed the approval of her impeachment by 61 senators against 20 an “unequivocal indirect election”, and vowed to appeal to every possible instance the decision she termed “fraud.” Near the end of her speech, she went on to affirm she would not bid farewell to the Brazilian people, but rather say “see you later.”
She noted that “the national progressive project, inclusive and democratic, which I stand for, is being brought to a halt by a powerful conservative and reactionary force, with the support of a factional and venal press. They will ensare state institutions and put them to the service of the most radical economic liberalism and social backwardness.”
The coup was not mounted against her and her party, she argued. “The coup is against the social and union movements, which fight for rights in all of its definitions: the right to employment and to protective labor laws, the right to housing and to land, to education, to health care and to culture, to the young people who write their own history, the right of black people, the indigenous, the LGBT population, the women, the right to express one's opinion without being repressed. The coup is against the people and against the nation. The coup is misogynistic. The coup is homophobic. The coup is racist. It is the imposition of the culture of intolerance, prejudice, and violence.”
She pointed out that, “for over 13 years, we have carried out a successful project that promoted greater social inclusion and the reduction of inequalities in the history of our country.”
Rousseff wrapped her address saying, “This is not how this story ends. I am convinced that the interruption of this process by the coup d'État is not a definitive one. We will return. We will return to resume our journey towards a Brazil where the people are sovereign. […] We will not bid farewell to you at this moment. I am sure I may say 'see you later.'
““I conclude my speech by sharing with you these beautiful words of respite by Russian poet Mayakovski:
'We're not happy, this much is true,
But what reason do we have to feel sad?
The sea of history is full of turmoil
The threats and wars, we shall traverse them,
Break them asunder,
Cutting through them as does a keel.'”
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Rousseff describes her ouster as second coup d'État in her lifetime
