Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s fate rested on Tuesday on the loyalties of the last 100 or so congressional deputies yet to declare how they will vote in a looming impeachment showdown.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s fate rested on Tuesday on the loyalties of the last 100 or so congressional deputies yet to declare how they will vote in a looming impeachment showdown.
In a ruthless and complex contest, supporters and opponents of Brazil’s first female President raced to amass the magic number that will make history when the Lower House of Congress votes in a week’s time.
A congressional committee voted late Monday in a non-binding measure to approve impeachment. It gave a taste of the bruising struggle, with deputies yelling and coming close to blows in a day-long debate. The full house is expected to start voting on Sunday or the following Monday.
This time, a two thirds majority, or 342 deputies, will be needed to send Ms Rousseff’s case to the Senate for impeachment trial. Anything less and Ms Rousseff — accused of fiddling accounts to mask the dire state of the government budget during her 2014 reelection — will have won.
The latest survey of the 513 deputies in the Lower House by Estadao daily on Monday showed 298 in favor, still short of 342. The count showed 119 opposing impeachment.
That left the result in the hands of the 96 deputies still undecided or not stating a position.
After winning Monday’s skirmish in the committee — where only a simple majority was required to win — opponents of Ms Rousseff declared they were on a roll. “It was a victory for the Brazilian people,” said Opposition deputy Jovair Arantes, predicting that the result would carry with “strong” pro-impeachment momentum into the full chamber’s vote. But pro-government deputy Silvio Costa said he was also confident. “The Opposition is very arrogant” after Monday’s committee victory, he said, noting that past presidents of Brazil have usually struggled to get even the 308 votes needed for constitutional amendments.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s vice- president — who would take over if Ms Rousseff is impeached — on Monday accidentally released the speech he would give to the nation if she were forced to stand aside, reports said.
The appearance online of the 14-minute speech in which vice-president Michel Temer addresses “the Brazilian people” was immediately interpreted by Ms Rousseff supporters as evidence for their claims that impeachment proceedings are a coup plot in disguise.
Mr Temer’s office told Folha newspaper that the vice-president, who turn-ed on Ms Rousseff to bec-ome an Opposition leader, was just practicing “on his cell phone and it was sent by accident.”
