The GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament strongly condemns the coup d'état in Brazil against a democratically-elected president of a sovereign nation.

Unquestionably, this has been a political coup – one perpetrated and orchestrated by President Dilma Rousseff’s right-wing opponents, the oligarchs and imperialism with the complicit involvement of many in the international community – masqueraded as a judicial decision but without any legal justification.

A calculated, political decision taken long before these spurious claims against Rousseff over illegal manipulation of the state budget began to surface. A coup executed in such a way that would have overthrown any leader around the world.

Rousseff’s removal from power truly marks one of the darkest chapters in the history of Brazil and a hammer blow to the country’s democracy.

It is evident that many of these opponents of Rousseff – supported by the United States – have never accepted her presidency and have long sought to overthrow her by any means.

Through repeated interference and destabilisation, it is a long-running campaign which began with the election of her predecessor, Lula da Silva, in 2002. In short, these same reactionary forces have refused to accept every democratically-elected presidential results since then.

What’s happening in Brazil is just the latest example of a new strategy by imperialist forces to take out progressive governments elected by the people of Latin America and around the world. A similar fate befell President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay in 2012, for example.

Already, the illegitimate right-wing government led by Acting President Michel Temer has wasted no time in reversing the achievements of da Silva and Rousseff by implementing a programme of privatisation, attacks on workers’ rights plus realigning the country’s foreign policy to suit the imperialist agenda.

GUE/NGL therefore stands firm with the democratic forces of Brazil and we offer our full solidarity with all those battling against reactionary forces that are behind this coup. We cannot and must not allow such acts of aggression against democracy to succeed. This illegitimate government’s regressive, right-wing agenda can only result in causing massive political and social upheaval for the people of Brazil – and the full surrender of national sovereignty.