Spiralling popularity ratings, evidence of rampant corruption and economic mismanagement is ensuring that Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff walks the political tightrope.
Public protests against the government, which have become the norm, are significant because they keep the government of Latin America’s biggest economy engaged with its people. Roussef is up against the wall, but her government must be allowed to govern — or, at the very least, serve its term out — for the sake of continuity.
The people are calling for Rousseff’s impeachment but the political tension must abate despite the fact that the president’s authority has been vastly undermined. The economy will shrink by two per cent and inflation, by the end of the year, will stand at nine per cent and this, among a host of other reasons, is feeding the people’s ire. They must, however, realise that the plan to impeach a leader who they had reelected a year ago could risk enhancing the political crisis in the country.
Rousseff’s term ends in 2018. If she survives this current turmoil, she must use this experience to consider a serious spring cleaning within her cabinet, to weed out tainted lawmakers who are dragging the credibility of the government to the ground, as well as initiate reforms that will reassert the people’s confidence in the government’s prowess.
Rousseff has not been accused of corruption. But according to her detractors, she is showing signs of incompetence. She should focus on changing the current script in her favour.
