In a statement released on Monday, Bernie Sanders voices concerns regarding the political process in Brazil saying the U.S. must stand up for democracy in the country and demand that its crisis be resolved with new elections. He added: “To many Brazilians and observers the controversial impeachment process more closely resembles a coup d’état.”

Sanders also condemned the unelected center-right coalition under Michel Temer that has seized power during Rousseff’s suspension and is now trying to install themselves through 2018. He noted "After suspending Brazil's first female president on dubious grounds, without a mandate to govern, the new interim government abolished the ministry of women, racial equality and human rights," Bernie also underlined that the interim government is now attempting to implement radical policies that could never be democratically ratified: "The new, unelected administration quickly announced plans to impose austerity, increase privatization and install a far right-wing social agenda."

He finished by stating "The effort to remove President Rousseff is not a legal trial but rather a political one," and that "We must stand up for the working families of Brazil and demand that this dispute be settled with democratic elections."

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Brazil has been subject to a massive fraud scheme in the state-owned oil giant Petrobras, while suffering a contractive economy (it has the biggest recession since 1930). Among the crisis, the opposition led by Eduardo Cunha, linked President Dilma Rouseff to the scandal. Eduardo Cunha himself has been asked to step down by the Brazilian Supreme Court as he’s also said to be implicated in the scandal and has also appeared in the Panama Papers. While President Dilma Rouseff’s impeachment trial is taking place, Michel Temer has taken her post as Interim President.

The new government assigned by Temer has been making various changes, in which government spending is being cut which they claim will help better the economy, whereas critics point out the reforms are being conducted at the cost of social benefits. During this time, a third minister, appointed by the Interim President had been denounced due to links to corruption (following the resignation of the Minister of Transparency). Brazilian Senior Minister Romero Jucá had also stepped down amid leaked phone conversations. Temer has also been linked to the corruption scandal before by the allegations made by a former Petrobras executive, Sergio Machado. A verdict in the impeachment trial will come after the Olympics.

For more on the impeachment (accuser’s point of view) click here and here.
For more on the impeachment (defendant’s point of view) click here and here.