Brazil Senate votes to impeach President Dilma Rousseff
After a five-day hearing, 20 senators voted in her favour, while 61 were against it, but she is likely to challenge the decision in court.
The Brazil Senate on Wednesday voted 61-20 to remove President Dilma Rousseff after she was accused of mishandling the country’s budget and misrepresenting the economy. However, a few reports said some of her accusers were also mired in corruption charges. Following her impeachment, Rousseff will be barred from holding office for eight years. However, she is likely to appeal the decision in the country’s top court.
Brazil’s lawmakers voted after a five-day hearing that saw several witnesses and more than 60 addresses from the country’s senators. Rousseff had also testified in her own defence on Monday and said the plot to impeach her was part of a “parliamentary coup”. According to The Telegraph, she had said that “democracy is condemned along with me”.
The Workers’ Party leader, who was serving her second term as the country’s first woman president, had faced severe criticism for Brazil’s struggling economy, corrupt colleagues and political paralysis. The country is currently facing is a massive recession.