Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly yesterday to open impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, a move that plunges the country into deeper chaos just months before the summer Olympic games.
The 367-137 vote was well over the 342 votes needed for the proceedings to move ahead to the Senate, where a majority vote will determine whether Rousseff is put on trial and suspended while Vice President Michel Temer temporarily takes over.
The deepening crisis comes as Brazil grapples with problems on multiple fronts. The economy is contracting, inflation is around 10 percent and an outbreak of the Zika virus, which can cause devastating birth defects, has ravaged parts of northeastern states.
Rio de Janeiro is gearing up to host the Olympics in August, but sharp budget cuts have fueled worries about whether the country will be ready.
There have been particular concerns that pollution in Rio de Janeiro waterways could put Olympic athletes at risk. Now, with the Brazilian political landscape being thrown into confusion, sports fans fear this could be the final blow that kills the event.
Rousseff is accused of using accounting tricks in managing the federal budget to maintain spending and shore up support. She has said previous presidents used similar maneuvers and stressed that she has not been charged with any crimes or implicated in any corruption scandals.
However, she failed to secure the support she needed, and more than the necessary two-thirds of lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies voted to oust her.
With at least 342 of 513 deputies voting in favor, the measure passed. Several lawmakers had yet to vote, so the final tally could be an even wider victory for the opposition.
The measure now goes to the Senate. If by a simple majority the Senate votes to take it up and put the president on trial, Rousseff will be temporarily suspended.
In that case, Vice President Michel Temer would take on the presidential duties and the Senate would have 180 days to conduct a trial against Rousseff. Senate leader Renan Calheiros has suggested his body would consider the measure within a month, but no date has been set.
Rousseff has options. She could appeal to the Supreme Federal Tribunal, Brazil’s highest court, on the grounds that the accusations are faulty. She has hinted she might do so.
She could also heavily lobby senators and at the same time use the union muscle of her Worker’s Party to bring thousands to the streets to pressure the Congress.
“This is just beginning,” said Jose Guimaraes, who is a member of the Worker’s Party. “It’s going to be a slow and gradual war that we’ll undertake.”
Watchdog groups and political analysts often cite a jaw-dropping tally: About 60 percent of the 594 members of Congress are facing corruption and other charges.
Just below the surface throughout the debates in the Chamber of Deputies was the “Car Wash” investigation, a probe into a kickback scheme so vast that dozens of top politicians and businessmen have already been jailed.
While Rousseff herself has not been implicated, the kickbacks at state oil company Petrobras allegedly happened on her watch and that of former President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva. While many lawmakers and regular citizens blame her for letting the graft happen, many sitting lawmakers are accused in the scandal.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Too bad our Congress doesn’t have the nerve and the integrity to do the same and impeach the most corrupt fraud president we have ever had. It seems to me that she is guilty of the same offenses obozo and his muslim regime are guilty of. So why are they still in office —- our very gutless and corrupt congress is my guess.
Bill Clinton was impeached and life went on as normal. We all thought, yeah, he’s out, but he continued as president and ended his term even though he was impeached. And now the witch wants to be president and move old Bill back into the Whitehouse. What’s wrong with this picture?
LOL – everything wrong with the picture of Killary wanting to re-enter the White House as its occupant.
You are partially right – the result of throwing out King Bo is that Joker Joe, the bimbo vice President would the new President and would be eligible for 8 years in office, That is scarier than less than a year with King Bo and both the King and his Court are paddled off to history. It’s time to throw out the Establishment and their Liberal RINO and DEM Professional Politician Puppets.
Correct! The congress is made up of mostly attorneys that started out with no money and took special interest money to get into office. We all know you have to sell your soul for that money, so the congress is loaded with puppets. That is why Obozocare passed. Because all the congress are corrupt they can’t point a finger at others – unless someone is trying to see another man’s junk under the toilet partition – then he is crucified. But, spending millions of taxpayer money on a bridge to nowhere, not a problem.
My thoughts exactly! The most corrupt POS in 50 years and the people absolutely love the psycho. Tells me a lot about the future of this once great nation. The progressives have won the war by using Lenin’s tactics as expressed by Saul Alinsky in his Rules for Radicals. Unfortunately the George Soros of the world will make billions while the rest of the world suffers. Obozo asked the question of how much is enough . he just directed his question to the wrong person.
Why in Heaven’s name did the IOC give the 2016 Summer Olympics to Brazil in the first place? Er….umm, why did I just ask that stupid question? The IOC is even more corrupt than our Congress and the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies combined! The original Olympic ideal was a lofty dream, but the sordid reality of the world has made it a far-too-expensive fantasy. Time to close the book on this money-draining operation.
It was schedualed there for a long time.
That’s what they were saying in the early 1980’s, and then LA rescued it and made it a cherry for countries to vie for again.
Maybe the gods of Olympus will help them to fix everything up, just as in the case of Elijah and the prophets of Baal, who failed to answer them in a whole day of frenzied appeals and dancing and even cutting themselves with knives. When will we stop worshipping these Olympians and get back to the true Creator, Yahuwah Almighty, in the Name of the Master Yahushua (Lord Jesus), the Second to our Father in the heavens, our soon-coming King and High Priest, who will take up His throne in Jerusalem, ISRAEL omein!
AMEN!!!
About the same time we stop “worshiping” Hollywood. Seriously, because it’s modeled after an event created in honor of gods that hardly anyone follows anymore–and most of it’s participants probably couldn’t name–you have to stand one your Bible and cry “worship of false gods”? Got news for you: all those saints you honor are just gods by another name. You worship and hold festivals to them just as our ancestors did the gods of old. (Don’t believe me? How do you qualify for sainthood? Requirement #1: Someone experiences a miracle as a result of PRAYING TO YOU–not “God.”)
We’re talking about Brazil, really need I say more.
Government corruption in a South American nation? You don’t say!
Sarcasm aside, I can see part of the explanation for why it took longer than four months since her inauguration for these charges to be officially brought against her: The statement that over 60% of the members of Congress are facing corruption charges also.
The entire business complex within Brazil is corrupt, and always will be if the government has any active role in the activities of their businesses, since government work is seen as something positive.
And if Bernie Sanders ever gets elected President, this is the level of corruption we can anticipate here. It always happens when government and business get blended together. You either end up with regulatory capture or government controls that ensure that corrupt business leaders are entrenched for life, never to be fired.
OMG,!!!!! what will we do now????????????????????
“No Olympics” the world will end ,
i wonder if our junketing O”TURD will go to opening if it happens i ould like to see him entered in the swan dive event from the mountaintop parachute packed by me no D ring oops
For the life of me, I don’t understand why they would pick a third world country to hold the Olympics.
The United States needs to clean house in Washington also. Corruption will be the downfall to this once great country. This is what happens when God is thrown out of our government, schools, and daily lives.
no place to hold the olympics, We’ve een moving them around too often for the last 50 years. All that money spent on facilities that will have a one time USE! That is idiotic. What’s Russia going to use the Sochi facilities for? HuH! nothing. move the olympics, NoW!
IF Not resolved, kiss those tourist dollars, euros etc Good bye, Brazil
Only to blame but Yourselves.
Open up & let in new Ideas for change & save the Games or lose the Games.
They could ask our president for the money. He can borrow it, and give it as gift. He’s awful generous. Sarc.
Brazil cannot afford to host the Olympic Games there!