A defiant Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vowed not to back down Monday, a day after the country’s lower house passed a motion to impeach her.
“I will fight, like I have always done in my life. … I am sure that we will have the opportunity to defend ourselves in the Senate,” she told reporters.
But Rousseff slammed the impeachment process against her as unjust, comparing it to a coup.
“Today, above all, I feel injustice,” she said.
“I watched throughout yesterday all of the interventions, and I did not see a discussion about the crime of responsibility, which is the only way to judge a president of the republic in Brazil,” Rousseff said.
Other leaders, Rousseff said, have done the same things she did.
“The acts that they accuse me of, they were practiced by other presidents of the republic before me. And it wasn’t characterized as being illegal acts or criminal acts. They were considered legal,” she said. “Therefore, when I feel injustice, it’s because, with me, I was treated like no one else was treated.”
Developing story – more to come