{"id":159402,"date":"2016-05-09T16:43:56","date_gmt":"2016-05-09T20:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=159402"},"modified":"2016-05-10T10:09:59","modified_gmt":"2016-05-10T14:09:59","slug":"why-rousseffs-impeachment-battle-is-bad-for-brazil-but-could-be-good-for-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/why-rousseffs-impeachment-battle-is-bad-for-brazil-but-could-be-good-for-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Rousseff\u2019s impeachment battle is bad for Brazil \u2013 but could be good for democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gretchen
Gretchen Helmke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an editorial published by Reuters, associate professor and chair of political science, Gretchen Helmke<\/a><\/strong> asks whether ousting Brazil\u2019s President Dilma Rousseff will end the country\u2019s vicious cycle of political corruption.<\/p>\n

Helmke, who has a forthcoming book published by Cambridge University Press,\u00a0Institutions on the Edge: Inter-Branch Crises in Latin America,\u00a0<\/em>says if the recent history of corruption and government upheaval in other Latin American nations provides any indication, \u201ca virtuous cycle\u201d of new leadership is not likely for Brazil.<\/p>\n

Latin American presidents are notorious for decrying the politicization and corruption of the courts and legislatures — only to pack them with their own loyal supporters. Similarly, legislatures often bypass vice presidents and replace ousted leaders with members of the opposition.<\/p>\n

Indeed, in Latin America, most presidential ousters look more like partisan affairs. Of the region\u2019s 17 ousted leaders, only six successors were the vice presidents — and most of those cases were not from the same party as the president.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Replacing Rousseff is likely to be particularly fraught. Brazil\u2019s entire line of succession is under investigation for corruption with the nation already seething over a harsh recession.<\/p>\n