2015–16 protests in Brazil

In 2015, approval ratings for President Dilma Rousseff dropped to record lows due to a slowing economy, increasing unemployment, a weakening currency and rising inflation. On 14 November 2014, police raids in six states netted prominent Brazilian politicians and businessmen, including some Petrobras directors. They were investigated in regards to "suspicious" contracts worth $22 billion. Neto was charged with corruption and money laundering, possibly related to illegal campaign donations supposedly solicited from Duque. The Workers' Party charged that Neto's arrest was politically motivated. A subsequent indictment accused Lula of money laundering and misrepresentation, with many of the allegations surrounding a luxury beachfront home that he hadn't disclosed that he owned, which had recent, costly additions. Judge Sergio Moro released a recorded phone call from Rousseff to Lula. The Supreme Court said the wiretap had been illegal, because it alone could authorize a wiretap involving the president, and one Supreme Court justice called the appointment an attempt to impede the investigation. The phone call between Rousseff and Lula da Silva went as follows: Rousseff: Lula, let me tell you something. Lula da Silva: Tell me, my dear. Rousseff: It’s this, I am sending Jorge Messias|[Jorge] Messias round with the papers, so that we have them, just in case of necessity, that is the terms of office, right? Lula da Silva: Uh-huh. Ok, ok. Rousseff: That’s all, wait there, he is heading there. Lula da Silva: OK, I’m here. I’ll wait. Tens of thousands of Brazilians protested nationwide the night after the recorded call was released, with some violence reported. On 5 May 2016, Cunha was suspended as speaker of the lower house by Brazil's Supreme Court due to allegations that he attempted to intimidate members of Congress, and obstructed investigations into his alleged receipt of bribes. Economy According to Bloomberg Businessweek, "[t]he real strengthened 0.6 percent to 3.2304 per dollar and has fallen 17.7 percent this year", the largest drop in value among "major currencies". Bloomberg Businessweek also noted that Rousseff's government had raised taxes and slowed spending to avoid a credit rating downgrade "after years of ballooning spending and subsidized lending", that economic growth had stalled and that "inflation exceeds the ceiling of the target range". The Petrobras scandal hurt the economy by causing a slowdown in investment in energy and construction. ==Demonstrations==

2015 On 13 March, thousands of supporters of the Workers' Party gathered in support of Rousseff and Petrobras in cities around Brazil. On Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, thousands protested and collected signatures directed at impeaching President Rousseff. others for impeachment. The protesters believed that Rousseff knew about the corruption and demanded she step down or called for her impeachment. Protest organizers combated such statements saying that the movement had spread to smaller cities in Brazil compared to 15 March protests. On 15 April, labor organizations protested a law that permitted companies to treat workers as independent contractors, and protests spreading through 19 Brazilian states with demonstrators blocking roads. and by Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais professors in Belo Horizonte noted the specific profile of the protesters. In São Paulo, they were largely very high-income, mostly white, with a great mistrust of political parties, especially those on the left, but with a strong belief in Aécio Neves, the defeated candidate in the 2014 national elections, and revealed a preference for ultra-conservative political journalism, and the belief that the Workers' Party intended to implement a communist regime in Brazil. In Belo Horizonte, protesters identified themselves mostly as centrist or right-wing in their political beliefs; supporting the idea that the federal government's distributive policies and favoring her resignation or impeachment. A call for military intervention was the third most frequent response. A majority of protesters agreed that military intervention was needed when asked that question in a yes or no format. Subsequent protests occurred on 16 August and on 13 December. 2016 Between 5.6 and 6.9 million Brazilians protested nationwide on 13 March 2016 calling for the arrest of her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's on money laundering charges and more specifically, for Dilma's impeachment. Protests in 337 municipalities, from the jungle town of Manaus to the capital city of Brasilia, demanded Rousseff's resignation. In São Paulo alone, approximately 2.5 million protested dressed in Brazil's yellow and green apparel, said police, the largest demonstration in the history of the city. Though the protesters were mainly middle-class, support for Rousseff among the poor has reportedly dropped due to the economy. ==Reactions==

Government response Rousseff said she defended the right to protest but called the protests a tactic used against her by opposition politicians and business elites. The package would also included more individuals in all branches of the Brazilian government in the 2010 Ficha Limpa law, which makes an individual ineligible to participate in government for eight years after impeachment, resigning to avoid impeachment or conviction by a judiciary panel. In July 2015, the CNT/MDA showed a lower approval rating of 7.7% and 62.8% of Brazilians wanting her impeachment. ==See also==