Rousseff spoke in her own defense before the Senate on 29 August for 45 minutes, proclaiming her innocence and decrying the impeachment process, noting that many of her accusers faced worse charges than she. "Everybody knows this impeachment process opened with explicit blackmail by the former head of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha," she said. She then answered questions from senators for more than twelve hours. She explained that she had needed to make difficult choices on the budget, to address declining revenue and a refusal by opposition in Congress to work with her. She compared her situation with other Brazilian presidents pursued by their opponents, including João Goulart, a leftist ousted in a military coup in 1964, and replaced by a 21-year dictatorship.