Dr. Jeffrey Lesser, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of History, was recently quoted in Time magazine. Lesser offers commentary on the current Brazilian political crisis and citizens’ attitudes toward the government. An excerpt from the article, “The Dramatic Power Struggle Behind Impeachment in Brazil,” is below.

Cunha’s decision this week to approve impeachment proceedings against Rousseff, on the grounds that she improperly used state bank funds to cover a budget shortfall, is rooted in the pair’s bitter yet symbiotic fight for survival, one that could take them both down. “Brazilians are angry at Cunha as they think he broke the law to enrich himself,” says Jeffrey Lesser, a professor of Brazilian history at Emory University. “But they are angry at Dilma for allowing this to happen, even if she did not herself steal.”