Brazil resumed its trial into allegations that President Temer illegally funded his 2014 campaign, leaving open the chance that he might be the country's second leader to be impeached in as many years. While there’s no deadline on when a verdict has to be reached, the very fact that the proceedings are going ahead has sent the South American giant into a deeper spiral of political uncertainty coming on the heels of former President Rousseff’s removal nearly one year ago. Temer was previously found to be in violation of campaign finance laws, but the case was reopened once more to allow new witnesses to testify. The possibility exists that Temer might be ousted from office this time around before completing his predecessor’s term at the end of next year.
Since assuming office after what Rousseff called a “coup” against her presidency, Temer has presided over what continues to be the worst economic recession in Brazil’s history. His popularity has also plummeted alongside everything else in the country, and masses of people have flooded into the streets to protest against him. They’re no longer just upset about how he came to power, but are uniting in opposition against key tenets of his governing platform. Temer promised to reduce Brazil’s crippling debt, but in order to do so he wants to weaken labor laws and slash pensions. His government also passed a law last year freezing social spending for 20 years. Altogether, Temer’s critics allege that his extreme neoliberal policies are jeopardizing the hard-fought socio-economic gains of his two leftist predecessors and bringing the country to the edge of collapse.
For these reasons, speculation is growing that Temer might not even finish his term regardless if he’s impeached or not. The ruling party’s coalition allies worry that the President is more of a liability to their agenda than anything else, and that it might perhaps be better if he steps down and resigns before the protests become unmanageable. This scenario could unfold if the Brazilian Social Democracy Party withdraws their support for him, which would then trigger an uncertain constitutional succession process for which there’s no precedent. No matter what ultimately happens and whether or not yet another Brazilian president falls in the coming year, it’s clear to the rest of the world that this once-promising BRICS member is now mired in what seems to be a never-ending state of political paralysis.
Julio Cesar Antonio, Brazilian political activist from Sao Paolo, and Eric C. Anderson, Retired technology worker from Washington DC and long term resident of Manaus, Brazil, commented on the issue.
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