MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — On April 17, two-thirds of Brazil's lower house lawmakers voted in favor of impeaching Rousseff, sending the vote to the Federal Senate.
The upper house created a commission of 21 senators, who will have 10 days to debate the issue, TeleSUR broadcaster reported on Monday.
According to the broadcaster, the commission has to prepare a report recommending whether the president should be impeached or not. If the majority of the upper house lawmakers vote in favor of the impeachment, following the report, Rousseff will be dismissed from her office for six months. Following the abovementioned period, if two-thirds of the senators support the motion, Rousseff will step down form her presidency.
Rousseff has been facing a wave of public discontent for over a year amid Brazil’s struggling economy and a major corruption scandal in the state-owned Petrobras petroleum company. The opposition has accused the president of corruption and of violating financial rules by manipulating state bank accounts to close budget gaps.
