The fight over President Dilma Rousseff’s future has taken a strange twist in Congress, with the leader of the lower house saying senators can’t go ahead with an impeachment vote and the Senate leader
The fight over President Dilma Rousseff’s future has taken a strange twist in Congress, with the leader of the lower house saying senators can’t go ahead with an impeachment vote and the Senate leader insisting they will.
The latest chapter in Brazil’s political drama began on Monday when the acting speaker of the Chamber of Deputies announced that he had annulled a majority vote by his own colleagues last month that favored ousting Ms Rousseff and sent the matter to the Senate for a possible trial of the President.
The surprise move by acting Speaker Waldir Maranhao touched off a stormy debate over the decision’s legality and its possible implications.
The Senate had been expected to vote on Wednesday whether to accept the impeachment case against Ms Rousseff and put her on trial for allegedly breaking fiscal rules in her management of the national budget. If a simple majority of senators decides in favour, Ms Rousseff will be suspended and vice-president Michel Temer will take over until a trial is conducted.
