Pall (Dark Clouds) Hang Over Brazils Presidential Palace as Dilma Rousseff Prepares for

Trial
by SIMON ROMERO June 7, 2016
Dilma Rousseff, Brazils first female president, is allowed to stay at the Palcio da Alvorada, the
cavernous (very large) residence of the countrys leader, while the fight to oust (remove by force)
her once and for all grinds on (persistent bad fact) in the Senate. Tomas Munita for The New York
Times
BRASLIA The first time the lights went out in her presidential palace, Dilma Rousseff
grimaced (facial expression of disapproval). The next time, she rolled her eyes. The third time, she
jumped out of her chair, demanding that someone find out what was going on.
This was my area, she fumed (say with anger) during an interview, pointing out that she had made
Brazils electricity grid (network) a top priority before she was suspended last month as president.
I dont know why this is happening.
With Ms. Rousseff stripped of (removed) her authority, a sense of powerlessness and indignation
pervades (spreads) the Palcio da Alvorada, the cavernous residence where she is allowed to stay
while the fight to oust her once and for all grinds on(2) in the Senate.
It was not supposed to be like this. Brazil was hoping to celebrate its triumphs in the run-up (period
right before event) to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, not play host to a jaw-dropping
spectacle of political dysfunction.
Ms. Rousseff, Brazils first female president, was supposed to be preparing to greet world leaders,
not enduring the humiliation of an impeachment battle that has her hanging by a thread (in a very
dangerous situation).
These parasites, is what she called her rivals trying to impeach her, many of whom are facing
their own scandals.
But the futuristic palace feels less like a lavish (luxurious) manor (mansion) these days than a
bunker (underground protection room). Stewing (agitatingly worried) as she tries to make sense of
her predicament (unpleasant situation) and prepares for her impeachment trial, Ms. Rousseff
compared her rivals to the strangler figs that envelop trees in the jungle, slowly choking them to
death.
And yet, she has relished (enjoyed) a few unexpected glimmers (small bright light) of hope.
Ever since legislators suspended her, the interim government led by Michel Temer, the vice
president who took over the nation last month after breaking with Ms. Rousseff, has suffered a
series of embarrassing blunders (careless mistake).
First, one of Mr. Temers top allies stepped down (resigned) as planning minister after a secret
recording emerged late last month. On it, an aide (assistant) laid out (plan in detail) how their party
the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or P.M.D.B. had pursued Ms. Rousseffs ouster in
order to thwart (interrupt) the investigation into the colossal graft (corruption) scheme surrounding
Brazils national oil company, Petrobras.

Then, the new transparency minister essentially Mr. Temers anticorruption czar resigned
after another recording seemed to show that he had also tried to stymie (interrupt) the Petrobras
inquiry.
On Monday, Brazilian news organizations reported that the countrys chief prosecutor was seeking
to arrest several leading figures in Mr. Temers party including the head of the Senate, a former
president and the former speaker of the lower house after recordings suggested that they had
sought to interfere with the Petrobras investigation.
I am perplexed, indignant and revolted, the former president, Jos Sarney, said in a statement.
Beyond that, Mr. Temer, 75, a lawyer who speaks an archaic Portuguese that flummoxes (confuses)
his countrymen (people from the same country), decided not to name any women or Afro-Brazilians
to his cabinet. His choices opened him to withering (very severe) criticism in a country where more
than half of the people define themselves as black or mixed race, and where women feature
prominently in the halls of Congress, the Supreme Court and the executive suites of large
corporations.
Its a provisional government of rich white men, Ms. Rousseff, a self-described leftist who was an
operative in an urban guerrilla group in her youth, said about the administration of her adversary. I
never thought that I would see in Brazil a government as conservative as this one.
Ms. Rousseff and her allies hope that the recent blows (unfortunate happening) to Mr. Temers
legitimacy can tilt (inclinate) the impeachment vote in her favor. She pointed out (indicate) that all
she needs is a handful of senators to change their votes for her to be reinstated as president.
Still, for every misstep by her adversaries, Ms. Rousseff and her own top confidants have also
found themselves caught off-guard (at moment of carelessness) by new revelations in federal graft
inquiries, reflecting the challenges that her Workers Party faces in its ambition to win her
impeachment trial and return her to the presidency.
Ms. Rousseff remains rare among major political figures in that she has not been accused of stealing
for personal gain. Instead, she faces charges of manipulating the budget in order to hide the depths
of Brazils economic woes.
But a former Petrobras executive has also testified that Ms. Rousseff lied about her knowledge of a
bribery-fueled refinery deal when she was the chairwoman of the companys board. She denies the
claim (suggestion).
Potentially even more damaging, the Brazilian magazine Isto reported in recent days that a
construction magnate testified that Ms. Rousseff negotiated an illegal $3.5 million donation for her
2014 re-election campaign.
Ms. Rousseff rejected the account, calling it a slanderous (false) part of a news media campaign
attacking her personal honor. But together with other developments her campaign strategist
and the former treasurer of the Workers Party are among Ms. Rousseffs allies already in jail on
graft charges the reports have further eroded (corrosion) her credibility.
Josias de Souza, a prominent political columnist, described the latest revelations tarnishing
(damaging the reputation) the camps (distinct groups) of both Ms. Rousseff and Mr. Temer as a
classic power struggle between criminal factions taking place before a recession-weary society.

Despite such grim (serious) assessments (evaluations), Ms. Rousseff is avidly preparing her
defense. She consults with aides, bounces strategies off (informally get opinion) lawyers.
Sometimes, her legal team convenes (get together) in the quiet chapel on the grounds of the palace.
Theyve always wanted me to resign, but I wont, she said, arguing that her rivals were carrying
out a coup, albeit (although) one with the Supreme Courts stamp of approval. I really disturb the
parasites, and Ill keep on disturbing them.
Senate leaders said on Monday that the impeachment trial was expected to conclude sometime in
early August, potentially producing embarrassing street protests as the Olympic Games get
underway (happening at the same time), regardless (despite) of how the Senate rules.
In the meantime, Ms. Rousseff expresses irritability, if not resignation, over the toll (tax) that the
political upheaval (agitation) has had on the young democracy established in 1985 in Brazil after a
long military dictatorship.
This is a turning point, she said about the rupture producing Mr. Temers ascension. A pact that
existed has broken.
Glossing over (treating with little concern) criticism that her policies laid the groundwork for
Brazils economic crisis, she argued that the economy would already be on the mend (recovering) if
congressional leaders had not thwarted measures aimed at restoring confidence.
Otherwise, Ms. Rousseff said that she hewed (extremely reduce) to routines each day, riding her
bicycle in the morning and reading at night, devouring each digital edition of The New York
Review of Books. Lately, she has been reading SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, by the English
classical scholar Mary Beard.
Ms. Rousseff said that she found some amusement (pleasant activity) in investigators comparing
Eduardo Cunha, who led the impeachment campaign as the speaker of the lower house before he
was suspended to face corruption charges, to Catiline, the senator who conspired to overthrow the
Roman Republic in the first century B.C.
Cicero, the orator and constitutionalist, denounced Catiline in a series of speeches before the
Senate, and Ms. Rousseff, smiling as she recalled her schoolgirl Latin, said: Quam diu etiam furor
iste tuus eludet?
The sentence was from one of the speeches, which questioned how much longer Catiline would
continue abusing the republics patience. In the question repeated by Ms. Rousseff, Cicero asked,
How long is that madness of yours still to mock us?