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Dilma Rousseff blows a kiss to supporters after visiting former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at his residence in Sao Bernardo do Campo on March 5. Photo: AP
Brasilia: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has rejected calls for her resignation amid a political storm deepened by a massive corruption scandal and blamed her opponents for causing a crisis that has hurt the Brazilian economy.
"No one has the right to ask for the resignation of a legitimately elected president without showing proof that I violated the constitution to warrant my impeachment," Ms Rousseff said on Friday, indicating she has no intention of quitting despite Brazil's worst economic recession in 25 years.
A few hours later, one of Brazil's largest news magazines, Isto e, published new corruption allegations, this time linking the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon with her election campaigns.
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and Senate President Renan Calheiros chat at the end of a breakfast with senators of the government's allied base in Brasilia on Wednesday, before charges were laid. Photo: AP
The publication quoted a ruling Workers' Party senator as testifying that graft money skimmed from overpriced contracts to build the dam funded Ms Rousseff's 2010 and 2014 successful bids.
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If confirmed and accepted as legal evidence, the plea bargain statements to the larger Operation Carwash investigation by Delcidio do Amaral will deepen a political crisis that threatens to topple Ms Rousseff, whose opponents are seeking to impeach her.
According to the magazine, Senator Amaral said a graft scheme mounted during the government of Ms Rousseff's predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva funnelled R$45 million ($16 million) from Belo Monte contracts into the party's campaign coffers and that of its ticket partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB).
Anti-government demonstrators clash with a supporter of Dilma Rousseff on International Women's Day in Sao Paulo last week. Photo: AP
The leftist leader, who was narrowly re-elected in 2014, is losing ground among her coalition allies and faces nationwide demonstrations on Sunday to rally support for impeaching the president in Congress. Rousseff and Lula supporters have vowed to front a counter-protest raising fears of violent confrontations.
Ms Rousseff said calls for her resignation were damaging the Brazilian economy, which shrank 3.8 per cent last year.
"This wave of rumours is creating a political crisis that is absolutely negative for the economy," she said.
Sao Paulo state prosecutor sought the arrest of Mr Lula on Thursday, after charging him with corruption and money laundering earlier. He is the subject of several criminal investigations.
In addition to the political and economic crises, Ms Rousseff also has to contend with the world's attention on her administration given the upcoming Rio Olympics and the spread of the Zika virus.
Reuters