Brazil's special commission votes to impeach embattled Rousseff

The impeachment process for Brazil’s embattled president Dilma Rousseff has one last hurdle to scale.

A special commission of the country’s senate set up to look into the matter, has given the all clear for the impeachment trial to go ahead.

By a majority of 15 votes in favor, five votes against and one abstention, the commission ruled that the evidence against president Rousseff, that she had allowed fiscal irregularities to happen under her government, was enough to warrant a trial.

The country’s 81-member senate will on May 11 hold a full vote on whether or not to allow the impeachment to go ahead.

A simple majority of 41 votes out of 81 is all that is required to set the trial in motion.

According to Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo, a full debate and vote will take place, with each of the 81 senators having up to 15 minutes to talk before casting their vote, meaning the session could last over 20 hours.

A political analyst at the University of Brasilia however says the impeachment process will have a negative impact especially on the country’s social development.

“The impeachment will weaken the achievement that Brazil has made in the past two decades. The possible adjustments in economic policies will center on large-scale privatization. In that case, the government’s investment will be reduced in the areas of public education and public services,” Flavia Berolli, a political analyst with the University of Brasilia said.

“It could be a good sign for investors in the international market, but for the Brazilian workers, students and those who are dependent on the domestic social policies, I think the prospect is not positive,” she added.

Should the senate vote in favour of a trial, Dilma Rousseff will have to step down for up to 180 days during which the vice president Michel Temer will act as interim president.

Reuters