CGTN America
Pro-government demonstrators march towards the Congress, where lawmakers are voting on whether to impeach Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, April 17, 2016. Emotions have been running high since the impeachment proceedings began in the Chamber of Deputies on Friday, with lawmakers holding raucous, name-calling session. Outside the legislature, waves of pro-and anti-impeachment demonstrators are expected to flood the capital, Brasilia. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Impeachment proceedings against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff neared a decisive vote on Sunday, with pro and anti-government legislators yelling and shoving as thousands of demonstrators for and against the president rallied outside.
Eduardo Cunha, the house speaker, who has led the drive to oust Rousseff, called for silence and respect as the session began.
The extraordinary session is the culmination of months of fighting, with friends and foes of Rousseff calling each other “putchists” and “thieves”.
If 342 of the lower house’s 513 lawmakers vote in favour of the impeachment on Sunday, the proceedings move to the Senate, where a separate vote could suspend Rousseff and hand over the top job to Vice President Michel Temer, whom Rousseff has blasted in recent days as being part of the push against her.
If lawmakers vote against impeachment, the bid to oust Rousseff would be dead and any subsequent process would have to start again.
Jason Marczak, Deputy Director of Latin America issues at the Atlantic Council, talked to CCTV about the Rousseff political saga.
Story by the Associated Press.
