RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – When Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and suspended last month, her permanent ouster seemed all but certain.
Rousseff’s impassioned argument that she was the victim of a modern-day coup d’état had fallen on deaf ears in Brasilia, as majorities in both chambers of Congress voted to show her the door.
But the government of interim President Michel Temer may be doing more to persuade senators to rethink their stance on Rousseff than she ever could while in office.
In light of a series of damaging leaked audiotapes, the abrupt exit of two ministers, allegations of corruption against other interim officials and baffling decisions by Temer, including appointing a Cabinet of all white men, some senators say they are reconsidering their final vote on the matter.
“This is very serious,” opposition Sen. Cristovam Buarque told The Associated Press of the deluge of scandals rocking Temer’s administration. “We have to be even more cautious with any decision we make about Dilma’s impeachment. A lot can happen before this is over.”