WASHINGTON D.C. – Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-09), who serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its Western Hemisphere Subcommittee made a one-minute speech on the Floor of the House regarding President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil during her impeachment proceedings.
Transcript:
“I would like to express my concern about events that are happening now in Brazil. In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff was reelected because a majority of Brazilians wanted to pursue her progressive policies further. But shortly after her reelection, some members of the right-wing opposition started to question the election results. Aided by the conservative media in Brazil, they accused her of manipulating the state budget in order to pay for social programs. But now they have taken it further than that, beyond their accusations, and they have forced her temporarily out of office by impeaching her, and putting her out of power while those proceedings take place.
“The interim government is implementing the exact policies that were rejected by a majority of Brazilian voters: cutting social programs, cutting education, cutting housing, cutting health care. These are things the [Brazilian] People wanted. It’s what they voted for and yet the interim government is undermining democracy by denying these things to the people who voted for them.
“My message is simple: Democracy matters. Votes matter. All around the world we are seeing right-wingers trying to deny the democratic forces their rightful power from winning elections. In Britain we have seen an effort to undermine the results of Brexit. In Portugal, the same thing happened when a left-wing majority won Parliament. And here in the United States, there have been efforts to undermine the President.
This must end. Democracy matters. “
Watch the video here.
