In 2015 and 2016, a series of protests in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
denounced corruption and the government of President
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...
,
[ triggered by revelations that numerous politicians allegedly accepted bribes connected to contracts at state-owned energy company ]Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
between 2003 and 2010 and connected to the Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
, while Rousseff chaired the company's board of directors. The first protests on 15 March 2015 numbered between one and nearly three million protesters[ against the scandal and the country's poor economic situation. In response, the government introduced anti-corruption legislation. A second day of major protesting occurred 12 April, with turnout, according to ]GloboNews
GloboNews is a Brazilian news-based pay television channel, owned by Canais Globo, a division of Grupo Globo.
History
GloboNews launched in 1996. In the previous year, Alice-Maria Reiniger had been invited to return to Sky Brasil, where she ha ...
, ranging from 696,000 to 1,500,000.[ On 16 August, protests took place in 200 cities
in all 26 states of Brazil.
Following allegations that Rousseff's predecessor, ]Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
, participated in money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
and a prosecutor ordered his arrest, record numbers of Brazilians protested against the Rousseff government on 13 March 2016, with nearly 7 million citizens demonstrating.
On 12 May 2016, the Federal Senate temporarily suspended Rousseff until it reached a verdict and replaced her with Vice President Michel Temer
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...
.
Background
In 2015, approval ratings for President Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...
dropped to record lows due to a slowing economy, increasing unemployment, a weakening currency and rising inflation.[ Upper-class Brazilians stated that Rousseff could not manage the Brazilian economy. They also said that she used class tensions to benefit her political campaign by stating that her political opponents were "enemies of the poor," when, in fact, the poor felt betrayed because she had passed policies to avoid an investment-grade downgrade, which ended up supposedly hurting lower-class Brazilians.][
]
Corruption
Operation Car Wash
In February 2014, an investigation by Brazilian Federal Police
The Federal Police of Brazil () or Department of Federal Police () is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and One of the most know nationals Polices forces of the Executive Power of Brazil. Besides with Polícia Rodoviária Federal (Feder ...
called "Operation Car Wash
Operation Car Wash (, ) was a landmark anti-corruption probe in Brazil.Kurtenbach, S., & Nolte, D. (2017). Latin America's Fight against Corruption: The End of Impunity. GIGA Focus Lateinamerika, (03). Beginning in March 2014 as the investiga ...
" implicated the state-owned energy company Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
at the center of what became the largest corruption scandal in Brazil's history. On 14 November 2014, police raids in six states netted prominent Brazilian politicians and businessmen, including some Petrobras directors. They were investigated in regards to "suspicious" contracts worth $22 billion. When allegations surfaced of graft
Graft or grafting may refer to:
*Graft (politics), a form of political corruption
*Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp
Science and technology
*Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure
*Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...
while President Rousseff was part of the board of directors of Petrobras between 2003 and 2010; Brazilians became upset with the government and called for Rousseff's impeachment
Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In Eur ...
.[ No evidence that Rousseff herself was involved in the scheme has been found, and she denies any prior knowledge of it.][ Further investigation found various offshore accounts and art collections owned by those involved in the scandal.]
In March 2015, Brazil's Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled that prosecutors could investigate about 50 individuals, most belonging to the Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
, for possible bribery and other crimes at Petrobras. Brazilian lawmakers allegedly squirreled away millions of dollars for themselves and for their political campaigns.[ On 16 March 2015, prosecutors charged 27 people in the Petrobras scandal, including Workers' Party treasurer ]João Vaccari Neto
João Vaccari Neto (born October 30, 1958, São Paulo) is a Brazilian banker and labor union leader. He is the Secretary of Finance and Planning of the Workers Party (PT) and was president of the cooperative known as BANCOOP (Housing Cooperative ...
and Renato Duque, former head of services of Petrobras. Neto was charged with corruption and money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
, possibly related to illegal campaign donations supposedly solicited from Duque.[ Duque was arrested and denied "having money abroad or moving money abroad".][ On 15 April 2015, Neto was arrested at his ]São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
home. The Workers' Party charged that Neto's arrest was politically motivated.[
]
Lula da Silva allegations
On 4 March 2016, Federal Police raided the home of Rousseff's predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
following corruption charges against him. A subsequent indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...
accused Lula of money laundering and misrepresentation
In common law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a False statements of fact, false or misleading''Royal Mail Case, R v Kylsant'' 931
Year 931 ( CMXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
North Africa
* The Ummayad Caliphate of Córdoba invades and conquers the city of Ceuta, which was ruled by the Berber dynasty Banu I ...
Question of law, statement of fact made during negotiations by one party to another, the statement then in ...
, with many of the allegations surrounding a luxury beachfront home that he hadn't disclosed that he owned, which had recent, costly additions. He faces ten years in prison if convicted. Investigators believed that this and another country house were possibly involved in the Petrobras scandal, and investigated further into donations made to his Lula Foundation. The link has not however yet been demonstrated.
Protests against Lula protégée Dilma Rousseff began again on 14 March 2016.
On 15 March 2016, testimony by the former leader of the Workers' Party stated that Lula and Rousseff had tried to block the Petrobras investigation and alleged that Aécio Neves
Aécio Neves da Cunha (; born 10 March 1960) is a Brazilian economist, politician and former president of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). He was the 17th List of Governors of Minas Gerais, Governor of Minas Gerais from 1 January 20 ...
, head of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Brazil. As the formerly third largest p ...
(PSDB) and a member of the Federal Senate, might be involved. The next day, Rousseff appointed Lula as her chief of staff, allegedly because ministers and lawmakers can only be tried by Brazil's Supreme Court. Judge Sergio Moro released a recorded phone call from Rousseff to Lula. The Supreme Court said the wiretap had been illegal, because it alone could authorize a wiretap involving the president, and one Supreme Court justice called the appointment an attempt to impede the investigation.
The phone call between Rousseff and Lula da Silva went as follows:
Rousseff: ''Lula, let me tell you something''.
Lula da Silva: ''Tell me, my dear''.
Rousseff: ''It’s this, I am sending Messias round with the papers, so that we have them, just in case of necessity, that is the terms of office, right?''
Lula da Silva: ''Uh-huh. Ok, ok.''
Rousseff: ''That’s all, wait there, he is heading there.''
Lula da Silva: ''OK, I’m here. I’ll wait.''
Tens of thousands of Brazilians protested nationwide the night after the recorded call was released, with some violence reported.
Allegations of PMDB involvement
As investigations grew, allegations against members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party
The Brazilian Democratic Movement (, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, with the most numbers of senators, ...
(PMDB) began to arise. Vice President
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Michel Temer
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...
faced impeachment proceedings in December 2015 but his fellow party member, President of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, defended Temer and blocked the motion. Cunha, however, did grant impeachment proceedings against President Rousseff at the time. Months later in April 2016, a Supreme Court judge, Judge Mello, ruled Cunha's actions wrong and that Temer should face impeachment proceedings as well. Cunha, who would be third in line for the presidency, has also faced scrutiny for alleged money laundering through the Petrobras scandal. Fourth in line, the President of the Senate of Brazil and fellow party member of PMDB, Renan Calheiros
José Renan Vasconcelos Calheiros (; born 16 September 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former President of the Federal Senate of Brazil. He has represented the state of Alagoas in the senate as a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement. ...
, is also under investigation for his alleged involvement in the scandal as well.
On 5 May 2016, Cunha was suspended as speaker of the lower house by Brazil's Supreme Court due to allegations that he attempted to intimidate members of Congress, and obstructed investigations into his alleged receipt of bribes.
Economy
According to ''Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'', " e real strengthened 0.6 percent to 3.2304 per dollar and has fallen 17.7 percent this year", the largest drop in value among "major currencies". ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' also noted that Rousseff's government had raised taxes and slowed spending to avoid a credit rating downgrade "after years of ballooning spending and subsidized lending", that economic growth had stalled and that "inflation exceeds the ceiling of the target range".[ The Petrobras scandal hurt the economy by causing a slowdown in investment in energy and construction.
]
Demonstrations
2015
On 13 March, thousands of supporters of the Workers' Party gathered in support of Rousseff and Petrobras in cities around Brazil.[ Police said that about 33,000 participated in the protests; pro-government organizers said 175,000 demonstrated.][ On 15 March, protests again broke out across Brazil. Although crowd size estimates differ, most calculations put the number at roughly one million nationwide.][
Police estimated the number at 2.4 million and organizers at three million, with hundreds of thousands to over a million demonstrators in São Paulo, about 50,000 in Brasília and thousands in other cities,][ with many protesters wearing yellow and green clothing similar to the Brazil football team and Brazilian flag.][ In São Paulo, police stated that at the start of the protest, there were approximately 580,000 demonstrators but the numbers grew by about 4,000 people every two minutes, with an estimated final number of over 1.5 million demonstrators.][ ]Datafolha
Datafolha is Grupo Folha's polling institute, founded in 1983 as the research department of Empresa Folha da Manhã S. A., and later on became a separate company able to serve external clients, from 1990. In 1995, it became a separate business uni ...
estimated a different number of protesters, stating that 210,000 demonstrators protested at some point and that 188,000 did so at the same time.[Data Folha 15/02/2015]
/ref> On Copacabana beach
Copacabana ( , , ) is a Brazilian (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in ...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, thousands protested and collected signatures directed at impeaching President Rousseff.[ The protest occurred on the 30th anniversary of the restoration of Brazil to democracy after military dictatorship. Some demonstrators called for military intervention against Rousseff,][ others for ]impeachment
Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In Eur ...
.[
Brazilians protested again on 12 April. Police said about 696,000 people came out, while protest organizers stated there were 1,500,000 demonstrators.][ In São Paulo, protesters were numbered between 275,000 by police and 1,000,000 by organizers.][ In Rio de Janeiro on Copacabana Beach, there were fewer demonstrators than at the 15 March protests but several thousand protesters still demonstrated.][ and sang ]rock songs
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of ...
that dated back to protests against the former Brazilian military dictatorship. The protesters believed that Rousseff knew about the corruption and demanded she step down or called for her impeachment.[ Analysts said that the smaller turnout could show that the protests would eventually come to a halt and the movement would end.] Protest organizers combated such statements saying that the movement had spread to smaller cities in Brazil compared to 15 March protests.
On 15 April, labor organizations protested a law that permitted companies to treat workers as independent contractors, and protests spreading through 19 Brazilian states with demonstrators blocking roads.[
Fieldwork using quantitative methods conducted in the 12 April protests by researchers based at the ]University of São Paulo
The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil.
The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
in the city of São Paulo, and by Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
The Federal University of Minas Gerais (, UFMG) is a federalIn the Brazilian Higher Education context, ''Federal'' does not mean ''collegiate'' (even though most Federal Universities in Brazil enjoy a similarly collegiate system), but it means ...
professors in Belo Horizonte noted the specific profile of the protesters. In São Paulo, they were largely very high-income, mostly white, with a great mistrust of political parties, especially those on the left, but with a strong belief in Aécio Neves
Aécio Neves da Cunha (; born 10 March 1960) is a Brazilian economist, politician and former president of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). He was the 17th List of Governors of Minas Gerais, Governor of Minas Gerais from 1 January 20 ...
, the defeated candidate in the 2014 national elections, and revealed a preference for ultra-conservative political journalism, and the belief that the Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
intended to implement a communist regime in Brazil. In Belo Horizonte, protesters identified themselves mostly as centrist or right-wing in their political beliefs; supporting the idea that the federal government's distributive policies and favoring her resignation or impeachment. A call for military intervention was the third most frequent response. A majority of protesters agreed that military intervention was needed when asked that question in a yes or no format.
Subsequent protests occurred on 16 August and on 13 December.
2016
Between 5.6 and 6.9 million Brazilians protested nationwide on 13 March 2016 calling for the arrest of her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
's on money laundering charges and more specifically, for Dilma's impeachment. Protests in 337 municipalities, from the jungle town of Manaus
Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...
to the capital city of Brasilia, demanded Rousseff's resignation. In São Paulo alone, approximately 2.5 million protested dressed in Brazil's yellow and green apparel, said police, the largest demonstration in the history of the city. Though the protesters were mainly middle-class, support for Rousseff among the poor has reportedly dropped due to the economy. Balloons depicting Lula da Silva in a striped prison outfit named 'pixuleco' were also seen during the protests.
On 16 March 2016, more protests broke out after Rousseff appointed Lula da Silva as her chief of staff, a move seen as shielding him from investigation, and leaked audio of a call between the two went public. The public, outraged, protested nationwide. In Brasilia, 5,000 people demonstrated outside the presidential palace and were dispersed with pepper spray and stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a Non-lethal weapon, non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces Flash blindness, ...
s when they approached the National Congress Palace. In São Paulo, thousands more protested, and another 5,000 in Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
. Protests reached 18 states.
On 18 March 2016, the Order of Attorneys of Brazil
The Order of Attorneys of Brazil (, OAB) is the Brazilian Bar Association. Founded in 1930, it is responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the country. Its national headquarters are in Brasília, Federal District. The OAB has 1,0 ...
, by 26 votes to 2, decided to support the impeachment of Rousseff based on the opinion of federal advisor Erick Venâncio.
Reactions
Government response
Rousseff said she defended the right to protest but called the protests a tactic used against her by opposition politicians and business elites.[ In the week after the 15 March protest, President Rousseff said that she was open to dialogue and that she might have made mistakes in her economic policies.
]
Anti-corruption measures
Following the 15 March protests, the Brazilian government announced that "a package of anti-corruption measures" was on the way, according to Secretary General Miguel Rossetto and Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo.[ Cardozo also stated that the government would participate in dialogue and that there should be "a ban on corporate finance of electoral campaigns".][ On 18 March, President Rousseff introduced the anti-corruption package, which included up to 10 years in prison for individuals convicted of corruption and fines five to ten times the amount of money in any transaction.] The package would also included more individuals in all branches of the Brazilian government in the 2010 Ficha Limpa
''Lei da Ficha Limpa'' (''English:'' Clean Record Act) or Complementary Law no. 135 of 2010 is a Brazilian act that amended the ''Conditions of Ineligibility Act'' (''Complementary Law no. 64'' of 1990). It was the fourth bill proposed by direct ...
law, which makes an individual ineligible to participate in government for eight years after impeachment, resigning to avoid impeachment or conviction by a judiciary panel.[
]
Public opinion
In February 2015, before protests began, Rouseff's approval rating dropped 19 points to 23% with 44% disapproving of her in Datafolha polls.[ Following 15 March protests, Rouseff's approval rating fell even further to only 13% with a 62% disapproval rating, one of the highest disapproval ratings in the past 20 years of any president. Other polls by Datafolha performed on 9 and 10 April showed that 63% believed President Rousseff "should face impeachment proceedings". Less than 15% knew that vice president ]Michel Temer
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...
would become president if Rousseff was impeached.[
In CNT/MDA polls performed in March 2015, 10.8% of Brazilians approved of Rouseff's government and 59.7 wanted her impeached.] In July 2015, the CNT/MDA showed a lower approval rating of 7.7% and 62.8% of Brazilians wanting her impeachment.[
]
See also
* 2016-2017 South Korean protests
* 2016–2017 Brazilian protests
* List of protests in the 21st century
* List of scandals in Brazil
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazil Protests, 2015-2016
2015 protests
2016 protests
Protests in Brazil
Anti-communism in Brazil
Riots and civil disorder in Brazil
2015 in Brazil
2016 in Brazil