The Heat: Brazil’s Economic and Political Crisis

The Heat

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff stands up against calls for her impeachment, as she works to bring her country out of its deepest recession in 25 years.

In recent weeks, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has cut her salary, reduced the size of her cabinet and slashed thousands of coveted jobs for political appointees. Brazil is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, unemployment has climbed to over 8% and the economy could shrink by 3% this year. Rousseff’s approval ratings are in the single digits and polls show that two-thirds of Brazilians would support her impeachment.

As many as a dozen impeachment petitions are already before Brazil’s Congress, alleging the president broke laws during her re-election campaign.
The Brazilian Supreme Court intervened his week, stopping impeachment efforts for now.

CCTV America’s Lucrecia Franco reports from Rio de Janeiro.

Former President Luíz Inácio da Silva asked Brazilians to give his successor, Dilma Rousseff, the chance to turn Brazil’s economy around.
But is it too little, too late for Rousseff’s reform policies to work?

The Heat discussed this with:

  • Bernardo Sorj, a non-resident senior fellow in the Latin America Initiative at Brookings Institution.
  • Mauricio Saverese, a journalist who covers politics and presidential elections in Brazil.
  • Paulo Sotero, the director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.