Newswise — This weekend, Brazil saw some of the largest anti-government protests in its history with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators calling for the country’s President Dilma Rousseff to resign. Protesters voiced their frustration against the poor state of the economy, as well as increasing corruption among the political elite.
Lourdes Casanova, academic director of the Emerging Markets Institute at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business, and Kenneth Roberts professor of government and expert in Latin American politics comment on the protests and what is next for Brazil.
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Casanova: https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/Faculty-And-Research/Profile/id/lc683Roberts: http://government.arts.cornell.edu/faculty/roberts/
Casanova says:
“This weekend’s protests were the largest anti-government demonstration ever in Brazil, and a tremendous turning point. New lows are reached everyday, in the economy and in politics. Brazilians are sick and tired of their income shrinking while corruption cases among the political elite are discovered everyday.
“For years former president Lula da Silva – who helped install and still supports Dilma Rousseff’s government - has enjoyed very high approval rates and continues to be an important symbol in Brazil. The police raid into his home last week was also the sign of the tide changing.
“Brazilians still demand that she resigns and want change - whatever that looks like.
“Options are limited at this point: the opposition does not have a leader that could take over and unite Brazilians in a time of crisis, which is worrisome. On the economic front, Brazil’s commodity-dependent economy is unlikely to get better anytime soon. One option might be to use part of Brazil’s foreign reserves, meant as a last resort in times of emergency, and start much needed investments in infrastructure.”
Roberts says:
“Following a decade of steady economic growth and social progress, a deepening economic recession has combined with a corruption scandal to generate large-scale protests calling for the impeachment of the two-term incumbent President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party.
“The polarization of the country's politics has reached levels unseen in Brazil over the past quarter of a century, as even the highly popular former president Lula da Silva has been implicated in the corruption scandal, along with major congressional leaders. The political crisis has no clear-cut resolution, and it will not be resolved simply by impeaching Rousseff.
“Instead, the crisis demonstrates the importance of deeper political reforms to clean up and safeguard Brazil's democratic institutions from the corrupting influence of the country's extreme economic inequalities.”
Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.
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