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Brazil’s suspended president makes impassioned speech to stay in office

“What is in play is the self-esteem of Brazilians. What is in play is the country’s future,” suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said in a speech to the National Congress. EVARISTO SAEVARISTO/SA/AFP/Getty Images

BRASILIA — A defiant Dilma Rousseff delivered what may be her last speech as president of Brazil on Monday, appealing to senators not to vote for her ouster in a controversial impeachment trial that was postponed until the Rio Olympics concluded.

During an emotional address, Rousseff referred to the torture she suffered as a left-wing guerrilla who was imprisoned by Brazil’s military dictatorship. She said the attempt to impeach her amounted to a coup that would only worsen Brazil’s political and economic crisis.

‘‘The accusations directed against me are unjust and uncalled for,’’ Rousseff said. ‘‘To condemn without sufficient proof is to condemn an innocent.’’

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If 54 of a total of 81 senators vote to impeach her, as is widely expected, Rousseff will be ousted and her former vice president, Michel Temer, confirmed as president. The vote is due to take place this week.

The trial, which began Aug. 25, is the final stage in a protracted process that started in December when Eduardo Cunha, president of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Brazilian Congress, gave the impeachment movement the green light.

Rousseff is accused of breaking budget laws and has been suspended since May, when the Senate confirmed a congressional decision to temporarily remove her from office pending the outcome of her trial and Temer took over as interim president. She denies the charges.

Broadcast live on Brazilian television, Rousseff’s speech to senators was a highly anticipated event.

‘‘I come to look right in the eyes of your excellencies and say I have nothing to hide,’’ she said. ‘‘I did not commit the crimes you accuse me of.

‘‘What is in play is the self-esteem of Brazilians,’’ Rousseff said. At that point, she almost broke down in tears, drank some water, was applauded, and continued. ‘‘What is in play is the country’s future.’’

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Brazil’s worst recession in decades was a key factor in Rousseff’s loss of popularity after she narrowly won reelection in 2014. Some observers say she is paying the political price for mismanaging Brazil’s economy, which was booming when she first came to office in 2011.

‘‘It was the economy, darling,’’ journalist Valdo Cruz wrote in an opinion column in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Monday.

Rousseff’s economic difficulties were exacerbated by street demonstrations protesting a huge corruption scandal at the state-run oil company Petrobras and calling for her impeachment. She has not been personally accused of benefiting from the scheme. But the multibillion-dollar scandal has engulfed many in her Workers’ Party and among its allies.

Last week, police recommended charges against her predecessor and political mentor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, over a seaside apartment they allege was renovated and given to him as a bribe. He denies the allegations and says the apartment is not his.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has also approved an investigation into both Lula, as he is widely known here, and Rousseff over accusations that they attempted to obstruct investigations into the Petrobras scandal, which they deny.

Leading politicians from Temer’s party are also being investigated in the scheme — including Cunha and Senate President Renan Calheiros.

Rousseff took aim at Cunha in her speech. He faces corruption charges before Brazil’s Supreme Court over millions of dollars he is accused of keeping in Swiss bank accounts. Investigators say the money came from Petrobras bribes.

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Cunha was suspended as speaker in May for allegedly trying to intimidate lawmakers and obstruct the investigation into the scandal, known as Operation Car Wash.

‘‘I did not divert public money in my government in my own benefit or my family, and I do not have bank accounts abroad,’’ Rousseff said.

She is charged with ‘‘crimes of responsibility’’ for allegedly breaking Brazil’s fiscal laws by using state-owned banks to fund an agricultural program and only reimbursing them months afterward. She is also accused of issuing decrees on spending without congressional approval.

‘‘In none of these acts was the Congress disrespected,’’ Rousseff told the Senate. She said the Finance Ministry was responsible for the agricultural program, not her. Her defense team has argued that other presidents and governors have extensively used similar budget maneuvers.

About a third of senators applauded Rousseff’s speech, which prompted Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, presiding over the trial, to briefly suspend proceedings. Rousseff then faced questions from senators.

Leftist lawmakers in the United States and Britain — including Senator Bernie Sanders — have protested what they say is a coup against a democratically elected leader.

But privately, even Rousseff’s supporters admit it will be difficult to stop the momentum in Congress for impeachment. On Sunday, Rousseff dined with Lula, former ministers and leaders of left-wing movements and discussed her speech.

Guilherme Boulos, coordinator of the Homeless Workers Movement, a Sao Paulo-based group, said there was an awareness among those present that Rousseff is unlikely to save herself. Consequently, her speech focused on transmitting a message to the world.

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‘‘The game in the Senate already has its cards marked,’’ Boulos said. He said it was important to show the world that the social programs that helped tens of millions of Brazil’s poor escape poverty during Lula’s and Rousseff’s governments were threatened under Temer.

Support for Rousseff has mobilized thousands on Brazilian streets in recent months, with concerts, sit-ins, and marches protesting what they call the ‘‘coup.’’ But by Sunday, there were signs that support was dwindling.

Barely 100 people turned up at a rally held by a trade union federation in Brasilia.