Brazil's House of Representatives Supports Rousseff's Impeachment

As opponents of Brazil's ruling party have managed to secure two-thirds of the total votes in the House of Representatives for the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the focus now turns to the Senate to determine the outcome of the final step. Rousseff's opponents and the ruling Workers' Party have accused the president and her close associates of 'corruption' or abuse of power. The Workers' Party has labeled the opponents as coup plotters and referred to the efforts to remove Rousseff as a 'coup'. After weeks of protests, crises, and street demonstrations, the vote for Rousseff's impeachment was held in the House of Representatives of Brazil's Congress. The opponents succeeded in obtaining two-thirds of the total votes (342 votes out of 513 seats), and now attention is on the Senate for a decision on this matter. If the Senate agrees to hold the impeachment and votes to convict Rousseff, she will be suspended from her position, and power will transfer to the Vice President. Subsequently, if the president faces two-thirds of opposing votes in the Senate, her vice president can lead the government until 2018, the end of the presidential term. Michel Temer, Rousseff's vice president, is now considered one of her opponents, although he himself faces accusations. Reuters states that Rousseff's impeachment occurs during Brazil's worst economic crisis since 1930 and has unprecedentedly deepened divisions in this 200 million-strong country since the end of military dictatorship. People have been watching the voting process live in city squares. Three weeks before the impeachment process began, the 'Democratic Movement' party withdrew from the ruling coalition. With the exit of six ministers from this party from the government, Rousseff was effectively exposed to a vote for her removal. Reports and broadcasts of the voting process show that each representative's vote was counted openly, with representatives standing up to announce their votes, facing cheers or boos from other representatives. Previously, representatives had debated the impeachment for nearly three hours. Some sang patriotic songs, some mocked the ruling party and recited satirical poems, some raised flags, and others chanted slogans. Meanwhile, thousands of supporters and opponents demonstrated outside Congress. The impeachment process was broadcast live on television networks and even displayed in some squares in Brasília, Brazil's capital. News agencies say that the Senate vote is likely to take place in May. In this context, Dilma Rousseff's government is on the brink of collapse, with the largest party in Brazil withdrawing from Rousseff's government coalition, and the president accusing her vice president of attempting a coup against the government.