Foreign Artists Join Campaign Against Impeachment of Rousseff

08/25/2016 - 11h52

On Wednesday, August 24, a group of foreign artists and intellectuals disclosed a protest letter against the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, joining other recent initiatives in the U.S. which showed public support for the suspended president.

The letter was signed by 22 people and includes actor Viggo Mortensen, of "The Lord of the Rings," musician Brian Eno, singer Harry Belafonte, filmmaker Oliver Stone and writer Tariq Ali, among others.

"We stand in solidarity with our fellow artists and with all those fighting for democracy and justice throughout Brazil," says the letter, written in English and Portuguese.

The letter says that the legal basis for Rousseff's ousting "is widely contested" and that there is "compelling evidence" that the main motivation of the impeachment prosecutors was to block investigations of corruption in which they are involved.

The statement follows other similar disapproval demonstrations of Rousseff's impeachment in the U.S., such as the letter signed by 43 members of the House of Representatives in July and a statement by Senator Bernie Sanders at the beginning of the month.

Sen. Sanders said the impeachment looks like a "coup d'état" and asked the American government to act against the process.

In their message, the artists appeal to the senators who will vote on the impeachment trial to respect the result of the presidential election held in 2014 and stress that there may be regional risks if the impeachment is approved.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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