Brazil Committee Votes To Begin Rousseff Impeachment Process: What Happens Next
By Tyler Durden
Moments ago, in the first of two closely anticipated and watched votes, a special committee in Brazil’s lower house voted 38 to 27 to begin the impeachment process against president Dilma Rousseff.
The committee voted on a report presented last week that concluded Rousseff bypassed Congress in authorizing credits to mask a growing budget deficit. While the report is not binding, the vote to confirm or reject it is the first real barometer on the prospect for impeachment.
Prepared by committee rapporteur Jovair Arantes, the report says Rousseff broke budget law by signing off on expenditures that had not been previously authorized by Congress, and by agreeing to illegal loans between federal govt and state-owned banks.
A quick reminder of Brazil’s current chaotis situation: as a result of an economic crisis that has plunged Brazil’s economy into a deep depression, cost its its coveted investment-grade rating and led to the corruption scandal known as Carwash that has ensnared leading executives and politicians, the largest Latin Americam nation has been left deeply divided, culminating with a surge in populist anger aimed squarely at president Dilma Rousseff who has become the symbol for many of all that is broken.
However, unlike President Fernando Collor de Mello, who in 1992 was ousted by an overwhelming majority in both houses, Rousseff’s fate seems to be hanging in the balance as many centrist legislators remain undecided on whether to support Rousseff or side with Vice President Michel Temer, who would replace her and whose party left government last month.
In any event, now that a special committee has voted with an overwhelming majority to push forward, things are finally in motion and following today’s vote, the full Chamber of Deputies could vote as early as April 17, either killing impeachment or setting the stage for Rousseff’s ouster in the Senate.
Impeachment would require two-thirds support, or 342 of the 513 lower-house lawmakers, to send the case to the Senate. As Bloomberg reported on Saturday, the pro-impeachment tally rose to 285 on Saturday from 274 on Friday, according to a survey by newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo, while the anti-government group VemPraRua put the count at 282. A group of Rousseff allies, including members of her Workers’ Party, said 127 lawmakers were lined up against the president’s ouster, short of the one-third needed to block her removal.
If there is a majority, and if the Senate accepts charges against Rousseff, she must step down for up to 180 days, with VP Michel Temer taking over. The Senate then holds trial, and votes whether to permanently oust president.
But for now it is up to the House vote where as Bloomberg previously reported, supporters of Rousseff and Temer in recent days have both sought to sway undecided legislators by offering government posts. They have also squabbled over procedural issues that could slow or accelerate the process. The chairman of the impeachment committee has been moving to speed up the debate, for which more …read more
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