Reps. Conyers and others put out the following press release on the letter. A PDF of the letter is here.



Lloyd Doggett (TX-35) , Karen Bass (CA-37), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-7).

An updated PDF of the letter is



— UPDATE: since the below press release was sent out, three Members of Congress signed on to the letter –An updated PDF of the letter is here

For Immediate Release:

July 25, 2016

40 HOUSE DEMOCRATS URGE SECRETARY KERRY TO CALL FOR DEMOCRACY IN BRAZIL





Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and more than thirty other members of the House of Representatives sent a letter today to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to refrain from gestures that could be interpreted as supportive of Brazil’s interim government and to instead “express strong concern” regarding the impeachment process targeting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and to “call for the protection of constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Brazil.” The letter is the first Congressional letter expressing concern over Brazil’s democracy in more than two decades.





The letter notes that the legal basis for the ongoing impeachment of Brazil’s first female elected president has been widely contested and that there is compelling evidence showing that key promoters of the impeachment campaign are seeking to remove Rousseff in order to contain the investigation of corruption cases and impose a far-right policy agenda that was rejected by Brazilian voters in the country’s most recent elections.



The Members of Congress also expressed concern about the implications of the impeachment for the Brazilian people, in particular women and Afro-Brazilians. As the letter notes, the interim government has not only eliminated the Ministry for women, racial equality and human rights, but has also appointed a ministerial cabinet composed exclusively of white males in a country where the majority of citizens identifies as black or of mixed race.



“What we’re seeing in Brazil is a power-grab by politicians who weren’t able to win at the ballot box,” said Congressman John Conyers. “Our government should speak out against the antidemocratic travesty taking place in Brazil.”



“This is a key moment in time when diplomatic gestures and statements from the United States will have true consequences for Brazil, its future as a democracy, and for the world,” said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. “The next few weeks will see Brazil in the world spotlight as the host of the Olympics, and we must be extraordinarily thoughtful and careful to support democratic values and principles.”



“It is deeply troubling that so many of the leaders of the campaign to unseat Brazil’s elected president are under investigation for corruption. President Rousseff has not even been charged with a crime,” said Congressman Keith Ellison. “The interim authorities are rushing to replace The President’s progressive administration with austerity and privatization, before the Senate even indicts her. This is a serious threat to the democratic process in Brazil, and our administration should not support it.”



The letter was endorsed by AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers (USW), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), United Auto Workers (UAW), Communication Workers of America (CWA), Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Global Fund for Women, Friends of the Earth, and Amazon Watch, among many other groups.



Signers of the letter included Reps. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Keith Ellison (MN-05), John Lewis (GA-05), Barbara Lee (CA-13), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Jim McDermott (WA-07), Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Alan Grayson (FL-09), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Sam Farr (CA-20), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Michael M. Honda (CA-17), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), José E. Serrano (NY-15), Bobby L. Rush (IL-01), David N. Cicilline (RI-01), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Donna F. Edwards (MD-04), Corrine Brown (FL-05), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), David Scott (GA-13), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Mark Takano (CA-41), Ron Kind (WI-03), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Michael E. Capuano (MA-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Matt Cartwright (PA-17), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), and Betty McCollum (MN-04).

Full text of the letter is available below, with a Portuguese translation below that.

###

July 25, 2016

The Honorable John Kerry

United States Secretary of State

Department of State

2201 C Street N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20520



Dear Secretary Kerry,

We write to express our deep concern regarding recent developments in Brazil that we believe threaten that country’s democratic institutions. We urge you to exercise the utmost caution in your dealings with Brazil’s interim authorities and to refrain from statements or actions that might be interpreted as supportive of the impeachment campaign launched against President Dilma Rousseff. Our government should express strong concern regarding the circumstances surrounding the impeachment process and call for the protection of constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Brazil.

As you are aware, Brazil’s legislature recently voted to suspend President Dilma Rousseff and a pending Senate trial could result in her permanent removal from office. This is not a legal trial, but a political one, where a two-thirds majority vote by a Senate riddled with corruption can end President Rousseff’s tenure. The circumstances surrounding these impeachment proceedings and the recent actions taken by Brazil’s interim government have generated enormous controversy both in Brazil and internationally. The impeachment process has come under fire for procedural irregularities, corruption, and political motivations from its beginning. The U.S. government should express concern about the threat to democratic institutions unfolding in a country that is one of our most important political and economic allies in the region, and the world’s fifth most populous country as well as Latin America’s largest economy.

With President Rousseff’s suspension, Vice President Michel Temer ascended to power and immediately replaced a progressive, diverse and representative administration with one that contains only white men who have announced plans to impose austerity, privatization and a far right social agenda. Their actions include the elimination of the Ministry for women, racial equality and human rights (replacing them with weak Secretariats subordinated to the Justice Ministry), and the announcement of major funding reductions for social programs and poverty reduction, prompting statements of concern from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and other groups.

Brazil remains deeply divided along income lines, yet the new cabinet has supported an agenda of sharp reductions to public services and extensive public pension and labor reforms with potentially deeply adverse effects on the poorest and most vulnerable. Again, these sharp reversals in government policy are conducted by a government with no popular mandate and which has come to power through extremely dubious means.

In his first 30 days in office, Michel Temer lost three of his chosen ministers to corruption charges, including a close ally, Romero Jucá, President of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party. Mr. Jucá stepped down after Brazil’s largest newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo released a taped conversation of him plotting the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff to install Temer in her place as a way to shut down a massive corruption investigation. To make matters worse, many of the politicians who support this impeachment process currently face allegations of serious crimes such as corruption, embezzlement and even attempted homicide. This includes Mr. Temer, who was found guilty of campaign finance violations and is banned from running for any political office, including the one he now holds, for eight years once he leaves office.

President Rousseff herself has never been formally charged with corruption and the impeachment claims are not based on corruption allegations. Instead, she is accused of using money from public banks to temporarily cover budget gaps. Whether appropriate or not, it is a widely used practice at all levels of Brazilian government, including by her two predecessors. This fuels allegations that the impeachment proceedings against President Rousseff are politically motivated. Beyond that, however, they are also seen as an opportunity for the interim president to impose a political agenda which reflects the views of the opposition, not of the elected President.

Finally, we are concerned that, rather than showing concern regarding these troubling developments, our government has sent signals that could be interpreted as supportive of the impeachment campaign. Because many Brazilians have labeled the impeachment process as a “coup” against the country’s elected president, it is especially important that U.S. actions not be perceived as supportive of impeachment. We note, for instance, that on April 19 – just two days after the lower house voted to impeach President Rousseff – Brazilian senator Aloysio Nunes, a key backer of the impeachment campaign, met with one of the State Department’s most senior officials: Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon. In Brazil, this meeting was widely interpreted as a gesture of support for the removal of President Rousseff from office.

Furthermore, we are dismayed to note that to date, State Department officials have limited themselves to expressing confidence in the democratic process in Brazil, without noting some of the very obvious concerns regarding the impeachment process and actions taken by the interim government. We urge you to join others in the region and express concern regarding these recent events and support stability, constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Brazil.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress

______________________________ _________

Vossa Excelência Secretário Kerry,

Escrevemos para expressar nossa profunda preocupação com os acontecimentos recentes no Brasil, que ameaçam as instituições democráticas do país. Nós também pedimos que Vossa Excelência exerça máxima cautela nas relações com as autoridades interinas do Brasil, e que se abstenha de declarações ou ações que possam ser interpretadas como apoio à campanha de impeachment lançada contra a presidenta Dilma Rousseff. Nós acreditamos que nosso governo deve expressar forte preocupação em relação às circunstâncias que envolvem o processo de impeachment e apelamos para a proteção da democracia constitucional e do Estado de Direito no Brasil.

Como é de vosso conhecimento, o Legislativo brasileiro votou recentemente para suspender a presidenta Dilma Rousseff. O julgamento no Senado ainda está pendente, e pode resultar em seu afastamento permanente do cargo. Este não é um julgamento legal, mas sim um julgamento político, onde dois terços dos votos de um Senado crivado de corrupção podem levar a termo o mandato da presidenta Rousseff. As circunstâncias que envolvem o processo de impeachment e as recentes ações tomadas pelo governo interino do Brasil têm gerado grande controvérsia, tanto no Brasil quanto internacionalmente. O processo de impeachment tem sido amplamente criticado por irregularidades processuais, corrupção e motivações políticas desde seu início. O governo dos EUA deve expressar sua preocupação com a ameaça às instituições democráticas que se desdobram em um país que é um dos nossos mais importantes aliados políticos e econômicos na Região e o quinto país mais populoso do mundo, bem como a maior economia da América Latina.

Com a suspensão da presidenta Rousseff, o vice-presidente Michel Temer ascendeu ao poder e imediatamente substituiu uma administração progressista, diversificada e representativa por um gabinete formado apenas por homens brancos, que anunciaram planos para impor austeridade, privatizações e uma agenda social de extrema direita. Suas ações incluem a eliminação do Ministério das Mulheres, da Igualdade Social e dos Direitos Humanos (substituindo-o por Secretarias fracas subordinadas ao Ministério da Justiça), e o anúncio de grandes cortes no financiamento de programas sociais e de redução da pobreza, instigando declarações de preocupação por parte da Comissão Interamericana de Direitos Humanos e outros grupos.

O Brasil continua profundamente dividido em linhas de renda, e, ainda assim, o novo gabinete tem apoiado uma agenda de reduções drásticas nos serviços públicos e extensas reformas nas pensões públicas e nas leis trabalhistas, com potenciais efeitos profundamente adversos para os mais pobres e mais vulneráveis. Novamente, essas fortes reversões da política de governo são conduzidas por um governo sem mandato popular e que chegou ao poder por meios extremamente duvidosos.

Em seus primeiros 30 dias no cargo, Michel Temer perdeu três de seus ministros, acusados de corrupção, incluindo um aliado próximo, Romero Jucá, presidente do Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB). O Sr. Jucá deixou o cargo após o maior jornal do Brasil, Folha de São Paulo, divulgar uma conversa gravada em que ele conspirava sobre o impeachment da presidenta Dilma Rousseff para colocar Temer em seu lugar, como uma forma de pôr um fim às investigações de corrupção em massa (acho melhor: de pôr um fim a uma série investigações de corrupção. Para piorar a situação, muitos dos políticos que apoiam este processo de impeachment enfrentam, atualmente, alegações de crimes graves, como corrupção, peculato e até mesmo tentativa de homicídio. Isso inclui o Sr. Temer, que foi condenado por violações de financiamento de campanha e está impossibilitado de concorrer a qualquer cargo político (incluindo o que ele agora exerce) por oito anos, uma vez que ele deixe o gabinete.

A presidenta Rousseff nunca foi formalmente acusada de corrupção e as justificações para seu impeachment não são baseadas em alegações de corrupção. Em vez disso, ela é acusada de usar dinheiro dos bancos públicos para cobrir temporariamente lacunas de orçamento. Sendo adequada ou não, essa é uma prática amplamente utilizada em todos os níveis do governo brasileiro, inclusive por seus dois predecessores. Isso corrobora as alegações de que o processo de impeachment contra a presidenta Rousseff é motivado politicamente. Além disso, ele também é percebido como uma oportunidade para o presidente interino impor uma agenda política que reflete os pontos de vista da oposição, e não da presidenta eleita.

Finalmente, nos preocupa o fato de que, ao em vez de expressar apreensão com esses acontecimentos alarmantes, o nosso governo tem enviado sinais que poderiam ser interpretadas como favoráveis à campanha de impeachment. Muitos brasileiros têm rotulado o processo de impeachment como um “golpe” contra a presidenta eleita, e é especialmente importante que as ações dos Estados Unidos não sejam percebidas como de apoio ao impeachment. Nós notamos, por exemplo, que em 19 de abril – apenas dois dias depois que a Câmara votou para impedir a presidenta Rousseff – o senador brasileiro Aloysio Nunes, um apoiador-chave da campanha do impeachment, reuniu-se com um dos mais altos funcionários do Departamento de Estado: o Subsecretário de Estado para Assuntos Políticos, Thomas Shannon. No Brasil, esta reunião foi amplamente interpretada como um gesto de apoio para a remoção da presidenta Dilma Rousseff de seu cargo.

Ademais, estamos consternados ao constatar que, até esta data, os funcionários do Departamento de Estado se limitaram a expressar confiança no processo democrático no Brasil, sem notar algumas das preocupações muito óbvias sobre o processo e sobre as medidas tomadas pelo governo interino. Nós pedimos que Vossa Senhoria se junte a outros países da região e expresse preocupação em relação a estes acontecimentos recentes, e apoie a estabilidade, a democracia constitucional e o Estado de Direito no Brasil.

Atenciosamente,

Membros do Congresso dos Estados Unidos da América



