Brazilian President Insists She Is Innocent but Will Probably Still Be Impeached

Now that the Olympics are over, Brazil finally has time to get back to the main event: President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial, which picked up speed on Monday when the suspended president defended herself before the Senate.

“I know I will be judged, but my conscience is clear,” Rousseff said in what could very well be her last public address. “I did not commit a crime.”

Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president, won her first term in 2010 and was re-elected by a narrow margin in 2014. She was suspended from office in May, amid accusations that she illegally fiddled with the budget to mask major deficits. Her critics say she hid the deficits to promote popular but expensive social programs in order to gain support during the 2014 election.

The impeachment process — delayed in part by the 2016 Olympics — has mortified Rousseff on the international stage. Despite pushing for Brazil to play host for the summer games in Rio de Janeiro, she was ultimately barred from even attending them.

Her speech Monday gave Rousseff a chance to defend her record ahead of the impeachment vote, which is slated for Tuesday or Wednesday, and which will likely result in her being officially replaced by interim President Michel Temer.

She took the opportunity Monday to publicly accuse the opposition of forcing her out of office, describing herself as an honest politician and Temer as a “usurper.” If she is impeached, Temer will hold office until the next election in 2018. According to Rousseff’s testimony, he’s already disqualified himself by appointing an almost entirely white cabinet in a nation that is 50 percent nonwhite — a move she said makes clear he never would have stood a chance in a general election. Prior to Rousseff’s impeachment, Temer served as her vice president. But the two belong to different political camps, with Rousseff in the Workers’ Party and Temer in the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party.

Although Rousseff is widely expected to be impeached this week, she’s not the only one to be embarrassed by the whole process. After facing massive criticism for his poorly diversified cabinet picks, Temer had to accept the resignations of three ministers he appointed, after they, too, were accused of corruption.

“I ask that you be just with an honest president,” Rousseff pleaded to the Senate on Monday.

Photo credit: Igo Estrela/Getty Images