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News > Latin America

Brazil's 'Week of National Shame Begins': Lula

  • Lula da Silva gestures during a national conference of bank clerks in Sao Paulo.

    Lula da Silva gestures during a national conference of bank clerks in Sao Paulo. | Photo: Reuters

Published 25 August 2016
Opinion

Former President Lula da Silva criticized the final impeachment trial against Dilma Rousseff, which begins today in the Senate.

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva branded the impeachment process against suspended President Dilma Rousseff "embarassing" on Thursday, the same day the final phase of the process began in the Senate.

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"It embarrasses me that the Senate, which should be debating the interests of the Brazilian people and workers, is discussing the conviction of an innocent person."

Lula, who is also Rousseff’s mentor, made the remarks in the city of Niteroi during an event with workers from the shipbuilding industry.

"Today, they begin to tear up the Constitution," he added.

The former leader of the Workers' Party also criticized former allies who have now turned against Rousseff. "The week of national shame begins."

The Senate began the final stage in Rousseff's impeachment Thursday, which has been widely condemned both at home and abroad as a parliamentary coup.

Rousseff has been suspended since May over accusations that she mishandled the fiscal budget to make the country’s economic situation appear better than it was prior to her re-election in 2014.

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But the independent prosecutor's office concluded last that month that Rousseff did not violate any fiscal laws. Meanwhile, analysts have added that the practice has long been common among Brazilian presidents.

A judge also cleared Lula of charges last Thursday after he was alleged to have been involved in "Operation Car Wash," the biggest corruption scandal in the country's history which is related to state-run oil company Petrobras.

If Rousseff is impeached, her former vice president and current interim President Michel Temer will likely remain in power until December 2018, despite him being legally barred from running for public office for eight years.

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