Brazil impeachment proceedings back on track against Dilma Rousseff
A vote to impeach Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff is back on track after the acting head of the lower house reversed an earlier decision to suspend the action against the president who is accused of illegally using state funds to plug a hole in the budget.
The speaker, Waldir Maranhão, released a statement overnight revoking his earlier call to annul impeachment proceedings in the lower house.
Attention will now turn to the Senate, the country’s upper house, which is set to vote on Wednesday on whether to put the president on trial. If successful, the action would temporarily remove her from office.
Investor concern that lawmakers were stalling on their decision to impeach the president had earlier sparked a sell-off in Brazilian assets on Monday, with the real and the benchmark Ibovespa stock index both falling.
But after Mr Maranhão’s about turn, Senate President Renan Calheiros said he would move ahead with impeachment proceedings, accusing his counterpart in the lower house of “toying with democracy”.
Opposition legislators cheered his decision while supporters of the government stood up and shouted at the senator in protest.
The upper chamber needs support from two-thirds of its 81 members to permanently remove the president from office. If the Senate now votes for impeachment, Michel Temer, who as vice-president has assumed her duties, is expected to enter immediate talks to form a new cabinet including the appointment of the former central bank governor, Henrique Meirelles, as his heavyweight finance minister.
Ms Rousseff’s allies had spent most of Monday trying to capitalise on the confusion sown by the lower house leader’s call to annul last month’s impeachment vote.
Jose Eduardo Cardozo, the attorney-general, said the administration could file an appeal with the Supreme Court by arguing that Maranhao was right in trying to halt the process.
Brazil’s new president will have a chance to steady the ship
Brazil's vice President Michel Temer talks with the press in Brasilia, on April 11, 2016. Temer -- who would take over if Dilma Rousseff is impeached -- on Monday accidentally released the speech he'd give to the nation if she were forced to stand aside, reports said. / AFP PHOTO / ANDRESSA ANHOLETEANDRESSA ANHOLETE/AFP/Getty Images
Michel Temer’s first task is to win over investor confidence and stabilise the economy
Earlier, Mr Maranhão argued that lower house deputies should not have announced their intention ahead of the April 17 vote to send the motion on to the Senate.
However overnight, in a surprise move, Mr Maranhão reversed his earlier call.
“I revoke my decision issued May 9, 2016, in which the lower house sessions were annulled,” Mr Maranhão was cited as saying in a statement released by his office. No further reason was given.
Some questioned the motives of Mr Maranhão, a little-known politician from the country’s north-east who himself is under investigation for corruption. The president seemed taken aback by his announcement and urged caution during a speech earlier in the day.