Brazilian Congressmen Approve Beginning of Impeachment Proceedings Against President Rousseff

04/17/2016 - 23h55

On Sunday, April 17, the Brazilian Congress approved the beginning of the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff (PT).

The proportion of 2/3 of the votes in Congress to continue proceedings was reached.

The voting session still continues, however 342 congressmen of the total of 513 have already voted in favor of the impeachment.

However, President Rousseff, affected by the fall in her popularity due to the economic crisis and the investigations of the Brazilian Federal Police's Lava Jato operation, will not be ousted yet.

For that to occur, the congressmen's decision has to be countersigned by a simple majority of the Senate, which is likely to occur at the beginning of May.

The results in Congress on Sunday place Rousseff on the list of Brazilian presidents who have had impeachment proceedings begun in Congress after Brazil's redemocratization process - the list also includes Fernando Collor (PTC), who is a senator for the state of Alagoas today and eventually resigned before the trial that would annul his political rights.

In 1999, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) escaped from the beginning of impeachment proceedings after he won an appeal in Congress against the PT, which wanted the case not to be dismissed.

After the result is disclosed, the Senate will have two days to receive the official communication of the opening and to set up a special commission to analyze the case's admissibility.

Today there is a tendency in favor of the acceptance of the case - Folha score shows that there are at least 47 senators in favor of the impeachment, while only 41 are necessary.

If it occurs, Rousseff will be removed from office for up to 180 days and judged by the Senate in a proceeding led by the president of the Supreme Court, Justice Ricardo Lewandowski.

During the trial, Rousseff's vice president, Michel Temer (PMDB), would be president.

The voting of the impeachment in Congress was done by calling Brazilian states from North to South, alternating states. Thus, the first state to vote was Roraima and Alagoas, the last. The congressmen of each state voted in alphabetical order.

A Datafolha survey showed that, in São Paulo, a demonstration in favor of the impeachment was attended by 250,000 people on Paulista avenue.

Another protest, against the impeachment of Rousseff, had 42,000 people at Vale do Anhangabaú.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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	Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
	Congressmen, who support or oppose the impeachment, demonstrate before a session to review the request for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment