Some 367 Brazilian deputies approved the impeachment of Rousseff, sending the process to be voted on in the Senate within the next few weeks. The Senate is expected to vote on the matter in early May, and a simple majority win by the opposition would suspend her and start a trial that could last up to six months.
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With Rousseff’s impeachment, Brazil is in the heat of a crisis fueled by the worst economic recession that the country has felt in decades.
But if Calheiros delays the vote it could give Rousseff vital time to regroup, negotiate and try to swing wavering senators in her favor.
“The fight will carry on in the streets”, Tatiane Fernades, a member of the PT’s youth wing from the northeastern state of Alagoas, had said ahead of the vote, pledging that government supporters would dig in for a long battle in the president’s defense.
Rousseff stands accused of a budgetary sleight of hand employed by many elected officials in Brazil: delaying payments to state lenders in order to artificially lower the budget deficit to boost her re-election campaign in 2014. Brazil’s Supreme Court was due to rule today on whether former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva can take up his post as chief advisor to embattled President Dilma Rousseff.
But to gain popularity among Brazilians, Temer would have to ensure the Petrobras’ corruption investigation, known as Lava Jato, also continue.
“I have the energy, strength and courage to confront this injustice”, she said, while also accusing Temer of conspiring against her.
It is worrying that the current political situation may hinder preparations for the Olympics. Millions watched the vote live on television.
Bolsonaro – who is planning to run for president in the next election – used his brief statement at the microphone during Sunday’s vote to laud the military leaders who beat and tormented leftwing leaders after the 1964 coup.
“It is nearly impossible the Senate will not take up the impeachment”. Every yes vote was greeted by screams of approval in Copacabana, but numerous deputies didn’t even talk about economic well-being or corruption, two of the public’s most pressing concerns, according to recent polls. A Rousseff spokesperson acknowledged that her team was examining the possibility of calling for elections – a move which has no constitutional basis, although it appears to enjoy considerable public support.
“It is nearly impossible the Senate will not take up the impeachment”.
Senate President Renan Calheiros, right, meets with the President of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, at the National Congress in Brasilia, Monday, April 18, 2016.
An anti-government demonstrator cries after the lower house of Congress voted to impeach Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, April 17, 2016. If that happens, Mr. Temer will assume the presidency until 2018.
“This is a moment in which those of us who care about Brazilian democracy should be sad”, Smith said.
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Brazilian financial markets have rallied strongly this year after a disastrous 2015 on the prospect of a more business-friendly Temer administration.
