[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 113 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DEMOCRACY MATTERS

  (Mr. GRAYSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GRAYSON. Madam Speaker, I would like to express my concern about 
events that are happening now in Brazil. In Brazil, President Dilma 
Rousseff was reelected because a majority of Brazilians wanted to 
pursue her progressive policies further. But shortly after her 
reelection, some members of the rightwing opposition started to 
question the election results and, aided by the conservative media in 
Brazil, they accused her of manipulating the state budget in order to 
pay for social programs.
  But now they have taken it further than that, and beyond mere 
accusations, and they have forced her temporarily out of office by 
impeaching her and putting her out of power while those proceedings 
take place.
  The interim government is implementing the exact policies that were 
rejected by a majority of Brazilian voters, austerity, cutting social 
programs, cutting education, cutting housing, cutting health care. 
These are the things that people wanted; it is what they voted for. 
Yet, the interim government is undermining democracy by denying these 
things to the people who voted for them.
  My message is simple. Democracy matters. Votes matter. All around the 
world we are seeing rightwingers trying to deny the democratic forces 
their rightful power for winning elections.
  In Britain, we have seen an effort to undermine the results of 
Brexit. In Portugal, the same thing happened when a leftwing majority 
won parliament. And here in the United States, we have efforts to 
undermine the President. This must end. Democracy matters.

                          ____________________