Under Brazilian legislation, the commission’s verdict is now to be considered at a plenary session of the lower house of parliament, which is very likely to vote for impeaching Dilma Rousseff on April 17. The senate requires 41 senators out of 81 for an impeachment trial to begin but two-thirds of the senate would be required to remove her permanently.
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In a blistering speech days ahead of a crucial impeachment vote in Congress, Rousseff said: “If there were any doubts about my denunciation that a coup is underway, there can’t be now”.
But if two thirds of vote for her removal then it is on to the next stage and the Senate.
If the upper house decides by a simple majority to put Rousseff on trial, she will immediately be suspended for up to six months while the Senate decides her fate, and Vice President Michel Temer will take office as acting president.
Political risk consultancies estimate at 60 to 65 percent the odds of impeachment clearing the lower house, since the committee vote was expected to sway undecided lawmakers to join the opposition.
Rousseff has seen her approval ratings tumble amid the worst recession in decades, a spike in both joblessness and inflation, and a spiraling corruption investigation at the state-run Petrobras oil company that has ensnared dozens of top politicians across the political spectrum, as well as some of Brazil’s richest and most powerful business executives.
In late March, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party left the governing coalition, leaving the president with even fewer allies. Temer would be confirmed as president for the rest of Rousseff’s term, ending on December 31, 2018.
Lula, addressing thousands of supporters Monday evening in Rio, said “putschists” were trying to oust a freely elected president. He specfically named Temer and the speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha. Anything less, and Rousseff will walk away with her job. The count showed 119 opposing impeachment.
Negotiations were not easy because they were also talking to Mr Temer’s camp, the aide said. On Tuesday without mentioning him by name she pointed the finger at her deputy.
The government says that the probe has become a political tool to boost the impeachment drive and Rousseff loyalists fear explosive new revelations before the vote. Lula himself has been charged with money laundering.
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The Supreme Court is due to rule in the near future on whether he can formally enter government and the decision would be sure to make waves – as would new charges or legal action.
