Brazil: Looks Like a Coup, Sounds Like a Coup

FEATURING MARIA LUIZA MENDONÇA – Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted on Monday to impeach the nation’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, over claims of corruption. Rousseff, who is with the left-leaning Workers Party, vowed to fight the impeachment process championed by opposition parties. The Senate will next take up the impeachment question, and vote on a simple majority to ratify the decision of the lower house.

Monday’s vote was held in extremely contentious circumstances, with one member of Congress after another casting their vote with bombast and melodramatic pronouncements. A recently released report found that a large number of the representatives pushing for impeachment are themselves guilty of corruption.

Supporters of the Workers Party are denouncing the proceedings as a coup.

Maria Luisa Mendonça, director of Brazil’s Network for Social Justice and Human Rights, and a professor in international relations department at the University of Rio De Janeiro.