“No one should have to suffer torture because a military regime. But I think that those of us who experienced what we experienced, well, I learned several things. I learned how to resist. I also learned that you can’t ever think that you’re going to be defeated in prison, unless you want them to defeat you. Defeat is not just an objective reality. Defeat is a reaction in the face of difficulty. So I suffered two coups, two blows: torture and this parliamentary coup. And they’re not going to defeat me. And I owe this to all of my colleagues who did not survive.”
- Dilma Rousseff, speaking with Democracy Now!
As pressure grows in Brazil for the removal of President Michel Temer over bribery allegations, we sat down with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached last year. She spoke about the current political climate in Brazil, her history as a political activist, her torture in captivity between 1970 and 1972 and what she thinks of Donald Trump’s first months in office.