Brazil's President Rousseff suffers impeachment blow


Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has suffered a blow to her hopes of staving off impeachment proceedings, after a committee voted they should go ahead.

The 65-member congressional committee voted 38 to 27 to recommend impeachment over claims she manipulated government accounts to hide a growing deficit.

All eyes will now be on a full vote in the lower house on 17 or 18 April.

The issue has divided Brazil, with police preparing for mass protests in the capital, Brasilia.

The vote took place amid chaotic scenes with supporters and opponents of President Rousseff shouting slogans and waving placards.

The committee's vote, while largely symbolic, was being watched as a measure of how much support there is for the impeachment process ahead of the crucial vote in the full lower house of Congress.

There, 342 votes in favour are needed to send the matter on to the Senate. The latest opinion poll by the Estadao daily suggests 292 are in favour, 115 against and 106 undecided.

On Monday night, thousands of supporters of President Rousseff attended anti-impeachment rallies in Rio de Janeiro.

Speaking at one event, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva dismissed the vote by the congressional committee, calling it "unimportant".

If the matter does go to the Senate, a simple majority there would suffice to send the impeachment forward.

If that happens, Ms Rousseff would be suspended for 180 days while the impeachment trial continues in the Senate.

Vice-President Michel Temer, from the opposition PMDB party, would take over temporarily but, in another twist, Brazilian media ran an audio tape on Monday that appeared to be a draft address he planned to give, accepting the post and calling for national unity.


SOURCE: BBC News