Democracy Now! (May 12) on the impeachment of Dilma

[Jack Rabbit]

Brazil’s former vice president, Michel Temer, assumed power as interim president Thursday after the country’s Senate voted to suspend President Dilma Rousseff and begin impeachment proceedings over accusations she tampered with accounts in order to hide a budget shortfall. Rousseff called the move a coup. Temer is a member of the opposition PMDB party and has been implicated in Brazil’s massive corruption scandal involving state-owned oil company Petrobras. He was sworn in Thursday along with a new Cabinet that is all white and all men, making this the first time since 1979 that no women have been in the Cabinet. We are joined from Rio de Janeiro by Andrew Fishman, researcher and reporter for The Intercept, who discusses the role of the United States in protests against Rousseff, and the background of Temer’s new Cabinet members.
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[MADem]

1. She has not, technically "been impeached." smh! She is CHARGED, not CONVICTED.

She is SUSPENDED, and if she is found innocent of the charges against her, she gets her job back:

But in Brazil, Ms. Rousseff has not yet been impeached, legal scholars say.

“In Brazil, the term impeachment is used only after a conviction is made in the trial,” said Daniel Vargas, a law professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro.

After Brazil’s Senate voted against her on Thursday, Ms. Rousseff must step aside during her impeachment trial, which could last six months. If she is absolved, she will not have been impeached, Mr. Vargas said.

Others agreed. “Formally speaking, she has not yet been impeached,” said Ronaldo Porto Macedo Jr., a law professor at the University of São Paulo and other institutions. “She is only considered impeached when there’s a final judgment.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/world/americas/impeachment-dilma-rousseff-brazil-clinton.html

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Thank you

I am guilty of "translating" the word impeachment into "American."

[MADem]

3. The American enthusiasm for calling every legislative/judicial removal of a leader

an "impeachment" is rather curious. In this case, Dilma could bring evidence to exonerate herself--it might be a long shot, but who knows? It's not a done deal ... yet. Also, if the judiciary fiddle farts around and doesn't get their act together, after six months, if they haven't convicted her, she goes back to work.

It's one of those weird situations where the word has different meanings, really. Impeachment in USA is the STARTING point. In Brazil, it's the end of the line. It's not quite like the difference in words such as boot or bonnet in UK, because at least it stays in the general vicinity of the "remove that leader from office" wheelhouse, but it's easy to apply US standards to Brazilian law, and that's where we get in trouble!

So...it ain't over till it's over for Dilma. Not sure what kind of a shot she has, I haven't really followed this story too closely. We'll see what happens!