Brazilian Lawyers Continue Efforts to Impeach Rousseff

Rousseff is under political pressure from Brazil's right who alleges that the president was involved in the largest corruption scandal in Brazil's history.

The controversy surrounding Brazil's national petroleum company Petrobras continues to taint politicians from both the right and left, but there is no evidence that either Rousseff or her predecessor Luiz Lula da Silva have been directly involved.

Rousseff last week condemned the "fascist methods" of opponents seeking her ouster and said the roiling crisis would leave a "scar" if not resolved democratically.

Her supporters say that the current push for impeachment amounts to a coup.

"Impeachment is enshrined in our constitution as a legal remedy for our democracy," bar association (OAB) president Claudio Lamachia told O Globo, a right-wing newspaper, on Sunday, saying Monday's action was endorsed almost unanimously by the bar as a defender of democracy.

Over the past weeks, millions of Brazilians have come out both in favor and against Rousseff and Lula, and several commentators have noted that there is a stark difference in the groups.

Brazil is a divided nation, with the anti-Rousseff right being predominantly white and wealthy. The pro-Rousseff left is comprised of working class Brazilians of indigenous, African, and European roots.

The successive governments of Lula and Rousseff, with their focus on social programs, have lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty.