Impeachment, term that from English, means “off-side”, corresponds to a political artifice, more precisely, to the process of termination of mandate of a ruler of the executive power, whether at the national, state or municipal level.
Thus, this challenge of mandate, which involves crimes, embezzlement, violation of rights, disrespect for laws and constitutional norms, as well as abuse of power by the rulers, is regulated by law 1079/50, present in the Brazilian Constitution, which establishes the maximum period of revocation in five years old.
Therefore, in the history of Brazil, the first impeachment case was that of the former president Fernando Collor of Mello, in 1992.
In August 2016, Dilma Rousseff was also removed following the same rite. From a global perspective, it is Richard Nixon, President of the United States in the 70s.
Note that the current Brazilian Constitution (Constitution of 1988) does not mention the case of Impeachment, in However, it warns of crimes under the responsibility of the President of the Republic, described in Articles 85 and 86, section III:
“Art. 85. The acts of the President of the Republic that violate the Federal Constitution and, especially, against:
I - the existence of the Union;
II - the free exercise of the Legislative Power, the Judiciary Power, the Public Ministry and the Constitutional Powers of the units of the Federation;
III - the exercise of political, individual and social rights;
IV - the country's internal security;
V - probity in administration;
VI - the budget law;
VII - compliance with laws and court decisions.
Single paragraph. These crimes will be defined in a special law, which will establish the rules of process and judgment.
Art. 86. Once the indictment against the President of the Republic is admitted, by two thirds of the Chamber of Deputies, he will be submitted to judgment before the Supreme Court, in common criminal offenses, or before the Federal Senate, in crimes of responsibility.
§ 1 - The President will be suspended from his functions:
I - in common criminal offenses, if the complaint or criminal complaint is received by the Supreme Federal Court;
II - in crimes of responsibility, after the filing of the process by the Federal Senate.
§ 2 - If, after the period of one hundred and eighty days, the judgment is not concluded, the President's removal shall cease, without prejudice to the regular continuation of the process.
§ 3 - As long as there is no condemnatory sentence for common infractions, the President of the Republic will not be subject to imprisonment.
§ 4 - The President of the Republic, during his term of office, cannot be held responsible for acts outside the exercise of his functions.”
Therefore, if the impeachment occurs, the vice president will be appointed to the position, and if he cannot take over, the position will be responsible for the President of the Chamber of Deputies. If, by chance, he cannot take office, the title will pass to the President of the Senate.
To know more: 1988 Constitution.
Collor Impeachment
Fernando Collor de Mello, born in Rio de Janeiro on August 12, 1949, was elected President of Brazil in 1990, by a small margin of votes (42.75% to 37.86%) over Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The politician, who governed the country for two years (1990-1992), suffered an impeachment process resulting from some involvements with corruption, such as financial fraud, in addition to using radical policies confiscating people's savings and checking accounts, in order to curb inflation in the parents.
Its government proposals were based on the price freeze, privatization process, opening of the Brazilian market to imports, which resulted in the change of currency, creation of new taxes (IOF), increase in inflation, unemployment rate and the closing of many companies.
Thus, after months of investigations and parliamentary investigation, Collor was tried and accused by the Federal Senate on December 29, 1992. Therefore, when he was removed from office, leaving him to his deputy Itamar Franco (1930-2011), Collor had to wait eight years to regain his political rights, that is, until the year 2000. Currently, the politician, journalist and economist is Senator of the State of Alagoas.
To know more: Collor Impeachment.
Painted Faces Movement
Faced with the disastrous situation in which President Collor was leaving the country, more and more people gathered in demonstrations, frightened by the dubious attitudes of the politician, to claim the impeachment of the president of the country, since he was involved in several scandals and schemes of corruption.
In addition to having triggered the inflationary process in the country, to the point that in the morning, the price of a certain product indicated “x”, and in the afternoon, it indicated “2x”.
From that, the "Painted Faces Movement" emerged from the students who took to the streets to claim their rights as citizens and fight for the president's downfall.
Thus, the student movement, which survived until it achieved its main objective, that is, the Collor Impeachment, had the participation of many young Brazilians.
Note that the name given to the movement appears so that students painted their faces with the main colors of the country's flag: green and yellow.
To know more: Painted faces
Richard Nixon's Impeachment
Another case of worldwide repercussion about the Impeachment process was that of Richard Nixon (1913-1994), elected President of the United States in 1969, where he remained until August 1974, at which time he even resigned as the only president in the history of the United States to do it.
The politician was involved in scandals, the best known of which was the one at Watergate, based on espionage cases.
See more about: Watergate case.
Curiosity
When Fernando Collor de Mello won the elections in 1992, the Workers' Party (PT), to which his opponent, Luiz, belonged Inácio Lula da Silva, alleged that Rede Globo de Televisão was involved in a public manipulation, thus favoring the President Color
Also read about the Dilma Rousseff's Impeachment.
