About two weeks ago, the President of the Parliament, Eduardo Cunha, gave the green light: since then the impeachment proceedings against Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff have been underway. She is accused of violating tax laws and of presenting beautiful budget figures. Many observers consider the procedure to be a political manoeuvre by the opposition with the aim of deposing the president and her social policy. Civil society actors, such as our partner organisation Centro Sabiá, are lining up alongside the President.
Jonas Vollmer
On 2 December 2015, Eduardo Cunha (PMDB, Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement), as President of the Parliament, initiated the impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff (PT, Labour Party). The accusations made against Rousseff are widely seen as pretexts not only to end Rousseff's term of office but also to discredit the policies of the Labour Party. In this confrontation, the struggle of the conservative opposition against a left-wing government, which since 2002 - the election of Luíz Inácio "Lula" da Silva - has determined the fate of the country, is crystallizing. Numerous fundamental decisions and social programs of this government have strengthened workers and civil society organizations in the long term. With the trial of Rousseff, the opposition is driving a further wedge between the political camps, thereby promoting division and polarization in South America's largest economy. While the number of participants in the protests supporting the impeachment proceedings against the president is declining, the demonstrations for the government and against Rousseff's impeachment are growing.
Partner of terre des hommes schweiz committed despite the crisis
For terre des hommes switzerland's partners in Brazil, too, this marks the beginning of uncertain times, among other things in the field of ecological agroforestry and youth participation. For example, the Brazilian national programme for the reduction of agrochemicals (Pronara) has little chance of being implemented due to the current political situation. But Brazilian civil society, which has grown strongly since the 1980s, is not prepared to accept this. Our partner organisation Centro Sabia in Pernambuco/Northeast Brazil, for example, reports how a public campaign has called for "impeachment proceedings for agrochemicals". According to the Brazilian Association for Public Health, 64 percent of food in Brazil is contaminated by pesticides and fungicides.
Growing uncertainty in politics and the economy
With the initiation of impeachment proceedings against the Brazilian president, the general uncertainty in the country's political system, which is already being shaken by growing unemployment, inflation and recession forecasts, has increased. Necessary projects and legislative plans are falling by the wayside as if paralysed, and rights that have already been expanded and securitised are in danger of being dismantled again. This concerns, for example, the protection of workers and the definition of indigenous territories, rural development programmes, social programmes, as well as juvenile justice and women's rights.
