Some analysts say that a Rousseff trial could split Brazilian society despite support for her impeachment in the Senate [Xinhua]
A committee tasked with reviewing the impeachment of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has recommended by a vote of 15 for and five against that the Senate put the embattled leader on trial.
While she has not been accused of corruption, she has been accused of fiscal negligence and manipulation of government accounts.
The popularity of Rousseff’s government has plummeted owing to a graft scandal at state oil company Petrobras.
A full Senate vote whether to hold a trial or not could take place as early as May 11, the commission’s rapporteur Antonio Anastasia told a press conference. Anastasia is a senator from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).
Under Brazilian law, if a majority of senators, or 41 out of 81 vote in favor of the impeachment, Rousseff will be suspended from office for 180 days as a full impeachment trial goes ahead, and Vice President Michel Temer would become the interim president.
A final impeachment vote would require a two-third majority to oust her.
But the process is further complicated because Temer is himself accused of violating the same fiscal responsibility laws as Rousseff.
A leading proponent of Rousseff’s impeachment, Lower House (Chamber of Deputies) Speaker Eduardo Cunha, is also facing a slew of money laundering accusations but Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot says he will add two additional charges to the list.
“One charge has been received by the Supreme Court, a second is currently being tried and, if I remember correctly, six more charges are open against him, all for different illegal acts,” Janot told Brazil’s Globonews TV station.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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