Brazil's congressional impeachment committee voted in favor of a Senate trial for President Dilma Rousseff on impeachable charges of manipulating government money. With the impeachment vote moving forward, Rousseff has been dealt with a heavy blow that could lead to her ouster and crush her chances of reelection.
A vote was made by the 65-member congressional committee after a heated and tumultuous debate. The panel voted 38-27 in approval of recommending President Rousseff's impeachment.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the process will head for vote in the full Chamber of Deputies on Sunday. A two-thirds vote, or 342 out of 513 members are needed to push the impeachment further.
If the critical vote is met in the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate will then decide whether to open an impeachment trial or not. If a trial is commenced, Rousseff will be suspended from office for a period of up to 180 during the pendency of the proceedings.
Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cordozo called the ill-tempered debate that led to the impeachment vote in the congressional "flawed."
"It is absurd to dismiss a president who has not committed crimes, nor stolen a penny. And such a process without crime or fraud, would be a coup," Cordozo said, according to BBC.
As Brazil's political temperature heats up with the looming Rousseff impeachment vote, a recently leaked audio recording is implicating Vice President Michel Temer as the driving force behind the attempt to overthrow the president.
The audio appears to be a message of an address Temer would deliver if he took over the presidency as interim.
"Many people sought me out so that I would give at least preliminary remarks to the Brazilian nation, which I am doing with modesty, caution and moderation," Temer said in the recording, as quoted by CNBC.
Vice President Temer also indicated that he wants to establish a "government of national salvation" which he believes will pull Brazil out of the worst recession in decades. To appease poor and marginalized sectors, which are known to be supporters of Rousseff, Temer vowed to maintain the wealth-transfer programs and agreed to their expansion if necessary.
Temer had explained that the audio was only intended for a friend who had asked him if he was prepared to govern Brazil if Rousseff exited, and that leak was only accidental.
Temer is also facing money-laundering charges which, if found impeachable, could disqualify him from continuing Rousseff's term. The next in line to take the presidency would be lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha.
