News / Brazil

Brazil’s leader slams rivals for triggering crisis

Monday, 07 March 2016 7:03 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 07 March 2016 7:02 PM ]

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (AFP Photo)

President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has slammed her political rivals for what she said was creating a systematic crisis in the country in order to run early elections.

"Brazil is facing … systematic political crisis, which is provoked by those who still cannot accept that they lost the elections," said Rousseff on Monday.

Rousseff, who is facing calls for impeachment by opposition parties in Congress over alleged fiscal mismanagement, is also under investigation by the Supreme Court for possible campaign funding irregularities that could end up annulling her 2014 reelection and bringing elections scheduled for 2018 to an earlier time.

Analysts believe that the brief detention of Rousseff's mentor and charismatic leader of the Workers' Party, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday for questioning in a graft scandal could have left a negative impact on the president's popular image.

Lula has been accused of taking bribes from companies involved in the Petrobras scandal.

Rousseff criticized the detention of Lula for questioning in the scandal.

"Let justice be done. President Lula never judged himself as superior to anybody. He always accepted the summons to questioning, he always went, so there is no sense in taking him by the cane, as they say, for questioning, if he never refused to go," said Rousseff.

Senior judges in Brazil have also voiced concern over Lula's detention.

Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello said on Saturday that "nothing justified the use of force" against Lula.

The implication of Lula in the corruption probe has deepened Brazil's political crisis and boosted efforts by Rousseff's opponents to impeach the president and invalidate her 2014 re-election.

AFP file photo of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (L) and former President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva

Supporters and opponents of Lula clashed outside his home on the outskirts of Sao Paulo on Friday after he was detained by police early in the day.

Forecasts for Brazil's 2016 inflation rate rose slightly to 7.59 percent from 7.57 percent in the prior week's survey, above the 6.5 percent ceiling of the official target range. Expectations for Brazil's economic growth in 2016 and 2017 remained unchanged.

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