Thousands of Brazilians Demand President Dilma Rousseff Out of Government Over Corruption Scandal
In Brazil thousands of demonstrators have called for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Marching though Copacabana beach in Rio and chanting in Brasilia, frustrated Brazilians carried banners that read "Dilma Out."
According to police about 350,000 people took part in protests in Sao Paulo and another 25,000 people took part in a demonstration in Brasilia.
The nation is at its worst economic point in 25 years, and angry Brazilians are putting the blame squarely on Rousseff. As reported by the BBC, a retired engineer named Elino Alves de Moraes explained the mass demonstrations by saying, "We want things to change and if the people don't go in the street that's impossible."
Sunday’s marches were the third large-scale protests against Rousseff that have taken place in 2015. Previous demonstrations occurred in March and April.
Rousseff, who is less than a year into her second term, is seen by many as a symbol of corruption. Protestors believe that she must have been aware of the bribery taking place at the state run oil company Petrobras, as she was in charge of the company at the time. Rousseff has not been implicated in the scandal and maintains her innocence.
Speaking about the seriously marred state of Rousseff's administration, Jason Marczak, deputy director at the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center in Washington, said, "She has tried to counter with a series of anti-corruption measures, but the scandal has implicated members of her multiparty congressional coalition, and it's unlikely that she'll be able to move forward now with this project or any other major legislation."
"She has very little political capital. The Petrobras scandal is dominating everything," Marczak told the LA Times in April.
A protestor named Marisa Bizquolo brought up the dilemma facing Brazil's conflicted citizenry, saying Rousseff “must be impeached or resign for ultimately she is responsible for all the corruption and the economic mess this country is in."
Bizquolo, speaking to the Associated Press, holds that despite this, “there is no one who could take her place and run a decent government.”
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