"I Won't Fall," Says Brazil's President Rousseff

07/07/2015 - 14h47

At the height of the worst crisis of her four and a half years in office, president Dilma Rousseff challenged those who defend her premature exit from the Palácio do Panalto to try to oust her and prove that she "took a penny" of dirty money.

"I won't fall. I won't. I won't. It's that simple, this is a political fight", the President said on Monday (6) during an exclusive interview with Folha, the first since adversaries openly resumed their push for her removal from office.

Rousseff dismissed resignation predictions and was quick to deny the rumors that have spread on the internet about her alleged suicide attempts. "I did not want to kill myself when they were trying to kill me over there [in prison, during the military dictatorship]. Why would I want to kill myself now?".

Folha - Ex-President Lula said that the two of you were in deep water. Are you?

Dilma Rousseff - I respect president Lula very much. He has every right to state where he is and where he thinks I am. But, no, I don't feel that I'm in deep water. I'm fighting tirelessly to overcome a very difficult moment in the life of the country.

Lula said that fiscal adjustment is a Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB, in its Portuguese acronym) thing but you did it.

My dear, they may want it, but I have no criticism of Lula. I don't need it. Let him talk. President Lula has the right to say whatever he wants.

You exhibit a strong appearance but are facing a difficult phase.

The other day, they posted that I had attempted suicide, that I was extremely traumatized. Don't bet on it, folks. It was a thousand times worse to be imprisoned and tortured. We live in a democracy. You can't call this torture. It's the struggle to create a country. I didn't want to kill myself when they were trying to kill me! Why would I kill myself now? It is completely disproportional. It's not for me.

And resignation isn't either?

It isn't. I am not guilty. If I had guilt on my record, I'd feel really bad. I don't have any. Neither from a moral point of view nor from a political point of view.

The opposition predicts that you won't complete your term.

That's from the point of view of a certain, somewhat coup, opposition. I won't complete my term, why? To overthrow a president, you have to explain why you are doing it. Did you mix up your desires with reality or do you have a real basis? I don't believe they have a real basis. I don't think the entire opposition is like this. In the same way that we have differences at the base of government, there are differences within the opposition. Some may even try it, I have no control over that. To want is not enough, you have to try.

There are people in the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB, in its Portuguese acronym) who are trying to oust you from power.

The people who are trying to oust me are not the PMDB. Noooo! No way. I think the PMDB. is great. The defeats we had can be reversed. Everything turns into a crisis here.

It seems like everyone is trying to overthrow you.

What do you want me to do? I'm not going to fall. I will not, I will not. It's that simple, that is political struggle. People fall when they are willing to fall. I'm not. I don't have a reason to fall. And come try, come try. If there's one thing I'm not afraid of, it's that. Don't believe that I'll get become nervous, fearful. They don't terrify me.

And if they meddle with your biography.

Oh, dear, and they would meddle how? They're going to rewrite it? They're going to prove that I took a penny? Will they? I want to see some of them prove it. Everyone in this country knows I didn't.When they are corrupt, they know who is corrupt.

NATÁLIA CANCIAN and JULIA BORBA collaborated, from Brasília

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

Read the article in the original language