The Brazilian Blowout
The stunning beaches of Copacabana, Christ the Redeemer, the majestic sounds of Bossa Nova, and well, I can’t mention all things Brazilian without forgetting to mention their appreciation of speedos. These are just some of the things that make Brazil so unique and fascinating, so I thought I’d mention them before killing your buzz. This blog post will not be about Brazil’s most popularized attractions or beach wear, but a Brazilian political scandal. Woo.
I must say, the story is quite juicy, a bit scandalous and ironic, but nothing compared to celebrity twitter feuds. So let me begin. It had not even been a whole year into her second presidential term, and Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff was already facing the prospect of impeachment due to a corruption scandal. The scandal was linked to state owned oil giant, Petrobras, so it was major. The issue erupted when information surfaced regarding the relationship between Petrobras and Rousseff’s senior members of congress, which comprised of these government officials receiving briberies. Of course. The arrests of multiple congress members automatically linked Rousseff, who was chairwoman of Petrobras, to the problem. But even though the impeachment was ultimately invalidated, this issue still manages to raise an eyebrow or two.
It gets more interesting, I promise. Before becoming the first female president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff was once one of Brazil’s most wanted fugitives. The 1960s was a time of social upheaval, encouraged by the emergence of a brutal military regime. During this time, Rousseff joined a left wing guerrilla movement under several different alias to avoid the authorities, but by 1970 she had already been caught and charged with subversion. She was definitely a courageous and passionate individual because the military regimes of that time were no group to mess with, mainly because they showed no mercy. So her fate seemed inevitable, she was supposed to disappear, die! However, her disappearance was not permanent, she was fortunate enough to have reappeared three years later to tell her story, unlike some of her “Marxist” companions. As you could imagine, the disappearance was nothing like going on a soul-searching hiatus, it was more of a hell on earth experience. Throughout her three years of imprisonment, Rousseff underwent a series of torture tactics, from electrical shocks to her ears and feet, as well as the dreaded “parrot’s perch” in which she was suspended on pole…naked.
During the time of extreme military ruling Rousseff was a young passionate revolutionary that longed for positive political change, and tried to achieve that with her involvement in a leftist guerilla group. Today the roles have reversed, and she was been caught in the middle of a massive corruption scandal that would have totally gone against the ideologies of her young liberal self. But even though she was not a primary offender in the scandal, the linkage alone was destructible enough to tarnish her reputation. So, how can she recover from this? Is it even possible? She was once viewed as Brazil’s own Joan of Arc, but with the linkage to such a dishonorable scandal, she has lost the trust of her country. What is she to do!?
As of now Rousseff’s future is in the air, who knows what will happen to her down the line. But the there are some things that will always remain certain: the stunning beaches of Copacabana, Christ the Redeemer, the majestic sounds of Bossa Nova, and of course, the appreciation of speedos.
