President Rousseff loses support from Brazil’s largest political party

World Today

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is fighting for political survival. Her ruling coalition lost the support of Brazil’s largest party.

And impeachment proceedings against her are underway in Parliament as the economy plunges deeper into recession.

CCTV America’s Paulo Cabral reports from Sao Paulo.

The end isn’t near for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, but impeachment is becoming more of a reality after Brazil’s largest party and key coalition member, the PMDB, decided to pull out of her ruling coalition Tuesday.

The deepening crisis prompted President Rousseff to cancel her trip to Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit. For Rousseff and her allies, they now need to secure at least one third of the 513 votes in parliament in order to block the impeachment process. But analysts said that leaves her little time or energy to deal with the country’s growing problems, which in turn fuels increasing unpopularity.

The government is expected to try to trade ministries and top government positions left open by the PMDB for support from smaller parties in parliament. But a growing anti-Rousseff movement and the worsening economic situation are making it very risky to be on the government’s side right now.

Brazilian experts said an impeachment could set a troubling precedent for vice-president Michel Temer, should he assume the presidency, or for any future Brazilian leader.

A vote on the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff could happen as soon as mid-April if the opposition has its way. Or the process could drag on for months if the government manages to stall it.