On Sunday, members of the National Congress will officially vote on the matter. A two-thirds majority is needed to send the motion to the Senate. If the Senate endorses the move, Rousseff will be suspended from office for up to 180 days while an impeachment trial is held.
On Friday morning, Chamber of Deputies President Eduardo Cunha and Former Justice Minister Miguel Reale Junior opened the debate which featured deep rift among representatives over the issue.
The former justice minister said the illegal fiscal maneuvers allegedly approved by Rousseff were "a crime against the nation" which she hoped would hide the country's true financial state from the public.
Following Reale's statement, Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo said that Rousseff had not committed any wrongdoings as the fiscal maneuvers used to delay some payments to state banks were legal resources allowed by the courts at the time.
In a country rampant with structural corruption and bribery scandals, Rousseff has yet involved in any investigation, Cardozo noted.
Friday's session proceeded with party leaders making case for and against the impeachment till the end of the day.
[Xinhua - china.org.cn]
16/4/16
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Related:
The special Commission of the Brazilian Congress approved the impeachment of the President
Juez de Brasil emite medida cautelar para suspender nombramiento de Lula
Protests in Brazil after Release of Rousseff-Lula Recording
Rousseff considera "innecesaria" operación policial contra Lula
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Brazil's impeachment problem: the accusers are also accused...
ReplyDeleteOne by one, Brazilian lawmakers rise on national television, faces red with indignation, voices shaking, to demand impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
The problem with this righteous scene playing out in Brazil throughout this weekend? An astonishing number of those deputies are themselves accused of crimes.
In Brazil's often surreal politics, the oddest -- and most ignored -- aspect is that many of the politicians baying for Rousseff's head should be in as much trouble as she is, or worst.
Rousseff faces impeachment on charges that she illegally used creative accounting to mask government shortfalls during her 2014 reelection. She does not deny this and defends herself saying that previous governments used the same tricks, a mitigating factor that numerous legal experts consider legitimate.
Now consider Eduardo Cunha, the speaker of the lower house of Congress and architect of the impeachment process plunging Brazil into political war.
He has been charged with taking millions of dollars in bribes linked to a massive embezzlement cartel centered on state oil company Petrobras. The Bible-quoting wheeler and dealer allegedly hid the money in Switzerland.
Far from being damaged, Cunha denies the charges and continues to wield huge power, fending off a congressional ethics committee where he is accused of lying about the Swiss accounts. On Sunday, he will oversee the lower house vote on whether to send Rousseff's impeachment case to the Senate......http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/199695.aspx
16/4/16