Brazilian Senators Less Sure About Rousseff’s Removal

AS IT IS 2016-06-10 Brazilian Senators Less Sure About Rousseff’s Removal

Increasing political problems in Brazil have weakened efforts to oust¹ suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

It appeared that Brazil’s Senate would vote to remove Rousseff from office after the lower house voted to suspend her in May. She is accused of breaking budget rules before her re-election in 2014.

However, a series of resignations and mistakes have raised doubts in some lawmakers. The problems appear to support Rousseff’s claim that she is a victim of a coup², or an attempt to seize power by a small group.

One undecided senator, Cristovam Buarque, told Reuters, “The presidency⁴ will be decided³ by two or three votes.”

Last week, the Senator Romario de Souza Faria, the former soccer star known simply as Romario, stepped down from the impeachment⁵ committee.

News media reported that Romario said he was no longer sure he would vote to remove Rousseff from office.

Missteps by the government of temporary president Michel Temer have increased doubts. Temer has appointed a cabinet of all white males. Groups around the country criticized the move.

Also, the investigation⁶ into Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras continues to hurt the temporary government.

Reuters news agency reports that a government lawyer has requested the arrest of four top members of Termer’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, the PMDB. The party has the largest number of lawmakers in Brazil’s legislature.

The investigation has centered on illegal payments from Petrobras to members of Rousseff’s Workers Party. But it has affected⁷ officials of the temporary government that replaced Rousseff’s.

Members of Temer’s team to improve the economy have stepped down because of the release of secret audio recordings⁸. The country’s Planning and Transparency ministers resigned last month.

The Senate trial takes place as Brazil prepares to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

However, temporary president Temer’s attempt to get a verdict in the trial in July, rather than August, failed on Monday, according to Reuter’s news service.

That means the verdict could come in the middle of August as the games are taking place.

The country also is battling a public health crisis. The Zika virus, linked to a serious birth defect and a disease of the nervous system, has been declared a worldwide health emergency.

The World Health Organization has warned pregnant women not to travel to places where Zika has been detected, including Brazil. The country is also considering emergency loans to Rio de Janeiro and two other states because of serious financial deficits⁹.

Words in This Story

impeachment – n. the process of approving a trial to remove an official from office

coup – n. an attempt to seize power by a small group

missteps – n. actions taken that are considered mistakes

transparency -- n. see through, clear

verdict – n. a judgement made by a jury or legal body

1 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句