THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 2, 2016- Topic 2
The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
The fall of Dilma Rousseff
from being one of the most popular politicians to an Impeached leader is much more than a
story of a “corrupt” President being Stripped of her powers by a Righteous legislature.
The exit of Brazil’s first woman president brings the 13-year rule of the left-leaning Workers’ Party (PT) to an end. The charge levelled against her is that she used illegal bookkeeping Manoeuvres to hide a growing deficit. Though this is a crime in Brazil, several of those who piloted the impeachment process in Congress have themselves been charged with corrupt practices. Almost all the leading political parties, including new President Michel Temer’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, were Implicated in the Petrobras corruption scandal. Ms. Rousseff is in fact one of the very few high-profile politicians not to be implicated in the Petrobras scam. Moreover, her presidency was not quite the failure it is made to appear as. She completed her first term and was re-elected in 2014 with a clear majority. Through all this, she purposefully continued the welfare programmes initiated by her Predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, particularly in the education, health and housing sectors.
The exit of Brazil’s first woman president brings the 13-year rule of the left-leaning Workers’ Party (PT) to an end. The charge levelled against her is that she used illegal bookkeeping Manoeuvres to hide a growing deficit. Though this is a crime in Brazil, several of those who piloted the impeachment process in Congress have themselves been charged with corrupt practices. Almost all the leading political parties, including new President Michel Temer’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, were Implicated in the Petrobras corruption scandal. Ms. Rousseff is in fact one of the very few high-profile politicians not to be implicated in the Petrobras scam. Moreover, her presidency was not quite the failure it is made to appear as. She completed her first term and was re-elected in 2014 with a clear majority. Through all this, she purposefully continued the welfare programmes initiated by her Predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, particularly in the education, health and housing sectors.
To understand Ms. Rousseff’s
fall, one has to look instead at the complex layers of Brazil’s polity. It is a
comparatively young democracy in which the PT rose to power defying established
structures. The power struggle within Brazil’s political class has never been a
settled affair. When Mr. da Silva was President, he was able to keep in check
the class interests Stacked against him with his Immense popularity. Ms. Rousseff
not only lacked his charisma and mass appeal, but also failed to right the
economy when a steep fall in global commodity prices hit Brazil hard. The
consequences were devastating: for instance, the Brazilian economy grew 7.6 per
cent in 2010, the year she won her first term; it is estimated to contract 3.2
per cent this year. It is amid this economic Gloom and nationwide anger against corrupt politicians in the wake of the
Petrobras scandal that her opponents used the charges of Fudging books to build a case for
impeachment. But the impeachment doesn’t solve the problems Brazil faces. The
economy is still in the doldrums, and is unlikely to bounce back in the near
future given the global headwinds. President Temer is as unpopular as Ms.
Rousseff had become, as was evident from the loud boos he received from
spectators at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics. Brazil’s opposition may
have gained power after a long wait through a parliamentary coup, but the
political and economic Turmoil is likely to remain for
long.
:::::::::::::::::::::Meanings
with example and Synonyms:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Impeached: call into
question the integrity or validity of (a practice).
Example: There is no basis to Searle's motion to impeach the verdict
Synonyms: Challenge, Question, Disparage, Criticize, Call
Into Question
Stripped: leave bare of
accessories or fittings.
Example: Thieves stripped the room of luggage
Synonyms: Empty, Clear, CleanOut, Plunder, Rob, Burgle, Burglarize, Loot, Pillage
Righteous: (of a person or
conduct) morally right or justifiable; virtuous.
Example: He is a good, righteous man, I am sure
Synonyms: Good, Virtuous, Upright, Upstanding, Decent, Ethical, Principled, Moral
Manoeuvres: a movement or series of moves requiring skill and care.
Example: Spectacular jumps and other daring maneuvers
Synonyms: Operation, Exercise, Activity, Move, Movement
Implicated: show (someone) to be involved in a crime.
Example: Police claims implicated him in many more killings
Synonyms: Incriminate, Compromise, Involve, Connect, Link, Embroil
Predecessor: a person who held a job or office before the current
holder.
Example: The new president's foreign policy is very similar to that of his
predecessor
Synonyms: Forerunner, Precursor, Antecedent
Stacked: arrange (a
number of things) in a pile, typically a neat one.
Example: The books had been stacked up in three piles
Synonyms: Heap (Up), Pile (Up), Make A Heap/Pile/Stack
Of, Assemble, Put Together
Immense: extremely large
or great, especially in scale or degree.
Example: The cost of restoration has been immense
Synonyms: Huge, Vast, Massive, Enormous, Gigantic, Colossal, Great
Gloom: partial or total
darkness.
Example: He strained his eyes peering into the gloom
Synonyms: Darkness, Dark, Dimness, Blackness, Murkiness, Shadows, Shade
Fudging: present or deal
with (something) in a vague, noncommittal, or inadequate way, especially so as
to conceal the truth or mislead.
Example: A temptation to fudge the issue and nudge grades up
Synonyms: Evade, Avoid, Dodge, Skirt, Duck, Gloss
Over
Turmoil: a state of great
disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.
Example: The country was in turmoil
Synonyms: Confusion, Upheaval, Turbulence, Tumult, Disorder, Disturbance, Agitation
