By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Although a recent opinion poll showed that 68 percent of Brazilians support the impeachment of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, she stated that the attempt to remove her from office is a “coup against democracy,” and told a crowd of supporters on Tuesday that she will ‘never resign’.
“I have not committed any crime under the Constitution to justify the termination of my mandate. Convict someone for a crime that she did not is the greatest violence that can be committed against anyone. It’s a brutal injustice. It is an illegality,” said the President to a cheering group.
The current administration is facing not only one of the worse economic recessions the country has ever encountered but President is being threatened with impeachment due allegations that she violated Brazil’s fiscal laws and manipulated government finances.
Recent protests, pro and against Rousseff and the PT (Workers Party) led millions to the streets and Congressional representatives are feeling the pressure to move forward with impeachment proceedings. Rousseff’s situation became even more delicate last week when recordings of telephone calls between her and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were made public.
Opposition leaders say these calls prove a conspiracy between the two leaders in nominating Lula as Rousseff’s Chief of Staff with the intent of moving on-going investigations of the former leader to the realm of the Supreme Court.
As the Chamber of Deputies’ Special Commission to decide on impeachment proceedings moves forward the former CEO of one of Brazil’s largest construction conglomerates, Odebrecht is said to have made a deal with federal prosecutors in the Lava Jato scandal, furthering implicating politicians and the Administration.
As President Rousseff tries to regain control of the situation, opposition Senator and former Presidential candidate, Aecio Neves, met with Vice-President Michel Temer on Tuesday to ‘assess the scenario due to the recent economic and political crises’.
According to Neves his party is ready to ‘help construct an emergency agenda that would lead to the construction of reforms’. According to the senator the scenario discussed included the removal or stepping down of the President in the near future.
“The expectation today is that the Chamber will be approving the impeachment process of the President in the very short term,” said Neves adding that if the process is approved in the Lower House ‘it is almost impossible that the Senate will hinder the continuity of the process’.