The Dilma Rousseff presidency: from motherly discourses to queer impeachment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dilma Rousseff was President of Brazil from 2011 to 2016, when she was removed from office following a controversial impeachment process. This article moves beyond macroeconomic rationales and allegations of corruption to elaborate a gendered and queer reading of the impeachment, primarily of how gender was instrumentalized to influence popular perceptions of Rousseff. Dialoguing with queer/feminist theories, it outlines how women’s political participation within Brazilian society can be curtailed or impeded, by examining the structuring of public and private spheres and the use of gendered language against Rousseff. The article argues that despite the efforts of the president and her supporters to present an image of motherliness, the prevailing social narrative became one of incompetence, lack of feminine desirability, and dubious sexuality. The methodology includes personal experiences and a discourse analysis of how a deleterious narrative of Rousseff was constituted, by examining political speeches and media accounts, as well as comparing her impeachment to that of Fernando Collor in 1992.