Adolfo Perez Esquivel in the Brazilian Senate Thursday. | Photo: @PrensaPEsquivel
"This is a soft coup as we call it here," he told senators, recalling that "similar methods" took down governments in Honduras and Paraguay in the past decade.
He warned that an interim government led by Vice-President Michel Temer could also have a negative impact on Brazil's relation with regional organizations like the Union of South American Nations and the Common Market of the South.
Opposition senators asked the stenographers to remove his speech, visibly outraged by Esquivel's words.
The senators will decide during the second week of May whether to approve the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
"I hope that the best will come out of this chamber, for the sake of democracy and the lives of the Brazilian people," he added.
Comment: Though not reported in the media, thousands have been turning out to show their support for democratically-elected Rousseff:
See also what Pepe Escobar recently wrote:
Pepe Escobar: The Empire of Chaos strikes back with a coup in Brazil