Questions and Answers on Brazil’s Presidential Crisis
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Version 0 of 1. Q. Why is Dilma Rousseff facing impeachment proceedings? She is charged with violating budgetary laws in order to conceal a deficit before what she anticipated would be a tough 2014 re-election campaign, borrowing money from banks that the executive branch controls to fund domestic programs, and making changes to the federal budget without congressional approval. Q. What did the Senate vote on? The Senate voted on whether to start a trial of Ms. Rousseff. Last week, a Senate committee formally presented charges against her when it approved a document detailing the accusations. Q. What exactly are those charges? Ms. Rousseff is accused of violating Articles 85 and 167 of Brazil’s 1988 Constitution and the 1950 Law of Impeachment in making changes to the budget without congressional authorization. She is also accused of violating the Constitution and the same 1950 law in borrowing money from an institution that the state controls. Q. Why are these potentially impeachable offenses? The 1950 law defines “crimes of responsibility,” identifying more than 50 situations that call for impeachment. One is violating the annual budgetary law. The 1988 Constitution applies because it includes “crimes of responsibility.” The 2000 law of fiscal responsibility makes it illegal for the executive branch to borrow money from financial institutions it controls. The law also requires congressional approval of any changes in an annual budget after it has been approved. Q. Can Ms. Rousseff go to prison if the Senate convicts her? No, but she must step aside temporarily while the trial is underway and would have to resign if convicted. “The nature of these crimes are administrative crimes,” said Oscar Vilhena Vieira, a constitutional law professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas, a university in São Paulo. “They are not penal crimes, so you cannot be put in prison because of them, but you can lose your mandate.” Q. So is the Senate trial different from a criminal trial in a court? Yes. This is a political trial, and the standard of proof for conviction is less than it would be in a courtroom trial. If Ms. Rousseff were tried by the country’s Supreme Court over these same offenses, she would be likely to face better odds of obtaining a favorable result. That also means that congressional support is crucial. “If she had a solid majority in Congress, these acts would be forgivable,” said Brasílio Sallum Jr., a professor of sociology at the University of São Paulo and an expert in Brazil’s political processes. Ms. Rousseff’s problem, he said, is that, “the majority support she had in Congress at the beginning of her presidency no longer exists.” |