The Current

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment divides country

Brazil's congress vote to impeach president Dilma Rousseff has citizens deeply polarized and those slated to take over also face corruption charges. Plus the Olympics are just around the corner. The Current checks in on Brazil's precarious politics.
Anti-government demonstrators celebrate after the lower house of Congress voted to impeach Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, April 17, 2016. The measure now goes to the Senate. (Silvia Izquierdo/Associated Press)

Read story transcript

The lower house of Brazil's congress voted 367 to 137 to remove president Dilma Rousseff from office, April 17. 

Rousseff was accused of illegally borrowing money from the state bank to paper over the country's deficit. But the president denounced the impeachment as a coup and vowed to fight back as supporters of her Worker's Party took to the streets.

A supporter of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff reacts while watching the televised impeachment vote in the lower house of Congress in Brasilia, April 17, 2016. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters )

This political drama is unfolding only months before Brazil is slated to host the summer Olympics. 

Stephanie Nolen, The Globe & Mail's Latin America bureau chief, joined The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti from Rio De Janeiro to talk about the implications of the impeachment and Brazil's precarious politics. 
 

This segment was produced by The Current's Josh Bloch.