Brazilians urge Rousseff’s impeachment, Lula’s resignation

Thousands of protesters have poured onto the streets of major cities in Brazil, calling for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff and the resignation of her predecessor Lula da Silva as her chief of staff.

Late on Wednesday, Brazilian protesters gathered in the country’s capital city of Brasilia and main city of Sao Paolo after Rousseff, earlier in the day, named the country’s ex-president and her political mentor Lula as her chief of staff.

Lula is already charged with accepting a luxury apartment from a company involved in an oil scandal as a bribe.

His nomination for the post is seen by the opposition as an attempt to prevent Lula, who was himself president from 2003 to 2011, from prosecution in connection with a massive corruption investigation centered on state oil company Petrobras.

Polls show Rousseff’s popularity in the country has diminished due to the alleged involvement of people close to her in the corruption scandal as well as allegations that her mismanagement of the economy is responsible for the current recession in the country.

Rousseff is separately accused of having doctored government accounts in 2014 in order to increase public spending as a means of wooing votes for reelection.

SS