Brazilians as well as the whole world saw live on television on Sunday 17 April the deputados (lower house) voting for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. It was a loud, chaotic voting, where politicians tried to bater (hit) and cuspir (spit) on each other. Here are a few questions answered, which will help you understand more about the impeachment:

1. Why? What is Dilma accused of doing?

• Payments and money transactions made by the government go through the Brazilian bancos públicos (public banks). Dilma is accused of “borrowing” money from the banks by asking them to conduct payments without paying the banks first, making the budget surplus look bigger than it actually was. Dilma denies having interfered with the accounts in order to get re-elected.

2. What were the resultados (results)?

• 367 YES votes, 137 NO votes and 7 abstained.

3. What do the resultados mean?

• Since more than two thirds of the deputados (lower house) voted YES, the motion will now go to the upper house, o Senado (the Senate).
• The Senado now has to vote on whether to launch the impeachment or not. If the majority votes NO, there is no julgamento (trial) and Dilma Rousseff stays in office. If the majority votes YES, Dilma is suspended (replaced by Vice-president Michel Temer) and the julgamento (trial) begins.
• The Senate trail can last up to 180 days. If Dilma is found not guilty she is re-installed, if she is found guilty, Dilma is removed permanently.

As for the povo brasileiro (Brazilian people), some believe that the end to corrupção (corruption) begins with Dilma being impeached, whereas others believe this is a golpe contra a democracia (coup against democracy) and that the people behind it are involved in even worse esquemas de corrupção (corruption schemes).

Even though it is hard to summon up in few words what has been happening in Brazil, you now have a little more knowledge and with the information above will be able to understand when people around you talk about the subject.

Boa semana à todos!