The following excerpt is from the chapter, “If I Lose” in the book “Dilma’s Downfall: The Impeachment of Brazil’s First Woman President and the Pathway to Power for Jair Bolsonaro’s Far-Right,” written by Associated Press journalists Mauricio Savarese and Peter Prengaman. The book takes an in-depth look at the 2016 impeachment fight that threatened democracy in Latin America’s most populous country and deepened visions in ways being felt to this day.
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Far-right Congressman Jair Bolsonaro stepped up to the microphone and began an explanation of the vote he was about to cast.
By this point, it was nearly a done deal that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff would be impeached: 235 had voted in favor, compared to 82 against. But the words of Bolsonaro, known for provocative statements during a career in Congress that dated back to 1991, summed up how many conservatives were interpreting what was happening — and it had nothing to do with Rousseff’s alleged breaking of fiscal…
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