Former Brazilian President Michel Temer said Thursday that Dilma Rousseff, whom he succeeded after an impeachment process in 2016, is “very honest” and denied having participated in a parliamentary coup against her.
Dilma Rousseff says she suffered a parliamentary coup with misogynistic ingredients
“There was no hit. When did the history of the so-called origin of the accusation begin? [contra Dilma Rousseff] in the Chamber of Deputies, I came to São Paulo and stayed in my office for several weeks for a reason, which I recognize exists, is that the deputy is always suspicious,” Temer said in an interview with the Uol news portal.
There was no coup, what happened was compliance with the Federal Constitution. Just read there, he says that if the president falls, the vice president takes over, first point. Second point, I want to say that the former president sometimes talks about corruption, it’s a lie. She is honest. I know, as far as I could gather, that there is nothing that could mark her as corrupt. For me [Dilma Rousseff] It’s very honest,” he added.
In the interview, Temer – who was called a coup d’état by Rousseff and her followers during the impeachment trial for alleged fiscal irregularities in the management of social programs, a charge for which he was declared innocent by the Brazilian justice system – stated that the former president had political problems with Congress.
“There were political problems. Is it over there? [Dilma Rousseff] had difficulties in the relationship with the National Congress, had difficulties in the relationship with society and had the so-called ‘pedaladas’ [manobra fiscal que consiste no atrasos de envio de dinheiro a bancos públicos referentes ao pagamento de benefícios de programas sociais]”, Temer said.
“This set of factors is what brought the crowds to the streets. It is not the National Congress that overthrows the President, in a political trial. It is the people on the street who influence the National Congress,” added the former president.
Temer insisted on saying that he responded to Dilma Rousseff’s request for establish a dialogue with Congress prior to the impeachment process and stressed that he did not “participate in anything and it was not even a parliamentary coup because [o processo de destituição] It was carried forward by Congress.
At the time of the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, Brazil was the scene of major protests against the government and against politicians and businessmen involved in the corruption scandals investigated by Operation Lava Jato, which brought millions of people to the streets and also groups more few sympathizers of the former president who defended his permanence in government.
The impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff enters today the final stretch of Brazil prior to Rio 2016
In 2019, Michel Temer himself was arrested twice, accused of corruption in Lava Jato investigations that uncovered a wide network of corruption in the state oil company Petrobras and other public companies in the country.
Michel Temer in preventive detention for Operation Lava Jato
Fear was accused ofaccept bribes from companies that have obtained contracts in the consortium that won the tender for the Angra 3 unit, which is part of the Almirante Álvaro Alberto nuclear power plant in Rio de Janeiro, and also for having received alleged undue advantages by decree for port areacharge for which he was found not guilty.
Last June, the Federal Regional Court of the 1st region decided to uphold the rejection of the complaint against the former president and seven others investigated in the Decontamination operation, which involved alleged irregularities in contracts signed for the construction of the Angra 3 nuclear energy company.
Source: Observadora
