Xinhuanet

Spotlight: Senate impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Rousseff in chaos

Source: Xinhua 2016-08-27 13:20:40

BRAZIL-BRASILIA-ROUSSEFF-TRIAL

Lawyer of the suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Jose Eduardo Cardozo (L) and President of the Supreme Court Ricardo Lewandowski (2nd L) take part in the Senate's session, during which the final stage of the impeachment process against Rousseff is started, in Brasilia, Brazil, on Aug. 25, 2016. The Brazilian Senate began Thursday the impeachment trial of suspended president Dilma Rousseff. (Xinhua/Andre Dusek/AGENCIA ESTADO)

BRASILIA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Senate impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff fell into chaos on Friday, with lawmakers for and against her hurling abuses at each other, forcing a two-hour halt to proceedings.

The second day of the trial began on Friday in a tense atmosphere after both sides had tried the day before to get witness testimonies thrown out for not being "impartial."

On Thursday, pro-impeachment senators sought to bar the testimony of Esther Dweck, former budget secretary at the Ministry of Planning, while Rousseff supporters tried to dismiss a prosecution witness, Julio Marcelo de Oliveira, for "showing bias" in posts on social media to encourage the public to protest against Rousseff.

Ricardo Lewandowski, head of the Supreme Court, accepted the case against de Oliveira while the defense team removed Dweck from its list of witnesses.

However, rows and chaos continued on Friday morning. This "impeachment trial has gone mad," Senate President Renan Calheiros said.

Lewandowski suspended the trial for two hours over lunch.

Geraldo Prado, the first defense witness and legal expert from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said impeaching Rousseff for suspected fiscal irregularities is improper.

According to Prado, Federal Court of Accounts accusing Rousseff of fiscal irregularities by delaying payments to state banks and ordering additional loans is unacceptable, since it had deemed such practices legal by previous governments.

Prado said any reasonable punishment against Rousseff should not exceed a fine, adding that the parliament was not empowered to remove a president from office for not sharing her policies nor being unpopular.

Economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo on the defense side noted on Friday that Rousseff had been cautioning against unnecessary expenses.

"At a moment when the economy was undergoing a contraction, losing income, the president carried out a contingency plan of an extra 8.5 billion reals" in an attempt to fulfil fiscal targets, said the professor at University of Campinas.

The unsuccessful measure "was not a fiscal crime, it was a mistaken economic policy," he commented.

More defense witnesses are expected to be heard. However, in order to speed up proceedings, Senator Aecio Neves from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party called senators in favor of impeachment to question defense witnesses only when it is very necessary.

On Friday, the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper published a new poll on the impeachment, showing 54 senators for and 18 against, with 14 undecided or not showing their stance. A total of 54 votes out of 81 are needed to remove Rousseff from office.

On Monday, Rousseff will appear and provide her testimony while the prosecutors and defense lawyers present their cases.

Her supporters have announced a "march of roses" to be held on Monday "to face the hatred of those in the coup."

On Aug. 30, senators will express their opinions about the case.

Brazilian media expect the final vote on whether to impeach Rousseff to run into Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Rousseff was suspended on May 12, for up to 180 days. Vice President Michel Temer took over the presidency on an interim basis.

Should Rousseff be impeached, Temer would complete her mandate until the end of 2018 and she would be ineligible to stand for public office for eight years.

 
Spotlight: Senate impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Rousseff in chaos
                 Source: Xinhua | 2016-08-27 13:20:40 | Editor: huaxia

BRAZIL-BRASILIA-ROUSSEFF-TRIAL

Lawyer of the suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Jose Eduardo Cardozo (L) and President of the Supreme Court Ricardo Lewandowski (2nd L) take part in the Senate's session, during which the final stage of the impeachment process against Rousseff is started, in Brasilia, Brazil, on Aug. 25, 2016. The Brazilian Senate began Thursday the impeachment trial of suspended president Dilma Rousseff. (Xinhua/Andre Dusek/AGENCIA ESTADO)

BRASILIA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Senate impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff fell into chaos on Friday, with lawmakers for and against her hurling abuses at each other, forcing a two-hour halt to proceedings.

The second day of the trial began on Friday in a tense atmosphere after both sides had tried the day before to get witness testimonies thrown out for not being "impartial."

On Thursday, pro-impeachment senators sought to bar the testimony of Esther Dweck, former budget secretary at the Ministry of Planning, while Rousseff supporters tried to dismiss a prosecution witness, Julio Marcelo de Oliveira, for "showing bias" in posts on social media to encourage the public to protest against Rousseff.

Ricardo Lewandowski, head of the Supreme Court, accepted the case against de Oliveira while the defense team removed Dweck from its list of witnesses.

However, rows and chaos continued on Friday morning. This "impeachment trial has gone mad," Senate President Renan Calheiros said.

Lewandowski suspended the trial for two hours over lunch.

Geraldo Prado, the first defense witness and legal expert from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said impeaching Rousseff for suspected fiscal irregularities is improper.

According to Prado, Federal Court of Accounts accusing Rousseff of fiscal irregularities by delaying payments to state banks and ordering additional loans is unacceptable, since it had deemed such practices legal by previous governments.

Prado said any reasonable punishment against Rousseff should not exceed a fine, adding that the parliament was not empowered to remove a president from office for not sharing her policies nor being unpopular.

Economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo on the defense side noted on Friday that Rousseff had been cautioning against unnecessary expenses.

"At a moment when the economy was undergoing a contraction, losing income, the president carried out a contingency plan of an extra 8.5 billion reals" in an attempt to fulfil fiscal targets, said the professor at University of Campinas.

The unsuccessful measure "was not a fiscal crime, it was a mistaken economic policy," he commented.

More defense witnesses are expected to be heard. However, in order to speed up proceedings, Senator Aecio Neves from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party called senators in favor of impeachment to question defense witnesses only when it is very necessary.

On Friday, the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper published a new poll on the impeachment, showing 54 senators for and 18 against, with 14 undecided or not showing their stance. A total of 54 votes out of 81 are needed to remove Rousseff from office.

On Monday, Rousseff will appear and provide her testimony while the prosecutors and defense lawyers present their cases.

Her supporters have announced a "march of roses" to be held on Monday "to face the hatred of those in the coup."

On Aug. 30, senators will express their opinions about the case.

Brazilian media expect the final vote on whether to impeach Rousseff to run into Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Rousseff was suspended on May 12, for up to 180 days. Vice President Michel Temer took over the presidency on an interim basis.

Should Rousseff be impeached, Temer would complete her mandate until the end of 2018 and she would be ineligible to stand for public office for eight years.

分享
Backgrounder: Chronology of Brazilian president Rousseff's impeachment process
Spotlight: Rousseff's impeachment process enters critical phase in Brazil
Spotlight: Rousseff to grasp last opportunity as impeachment trial nears
Brazil to continue Rousseff's flagship housing program
Brazilian lawmakers ask human rights group for help in Rousseff's impeachment
Night view: Hangzhou, host city of G20 Summit
Night view: Hangzhou, host city of G20 Summit
Xinhua editor-in-chief meets head of Ruptly news agency
Xinhua editor-in-chief meets head of Ruptly news agency
Chinese state councilor meets Albanian FM in Beijing
Chinese state councilor meets Albanian FM in Beijing
Feature: "China Pavilion" opens window for Kazakh people to understand China
Feature: "China Pavilion" opens window for Kazakh people to understand China
Floods bring Hindu funerals to halt in India's holy town of Varanasi
Floods bring Hindu funerals to halt in India's holy town of Varanasi
Daily life of Indian devotees in Varanasi
Daily life of Indian devotees in Varanasi
Tunisian parliament approves national united government
Tunisian parliament approves national united government
Murder of deputy minister by striking miners shocks Bolivia
Murder of deputy minister by striking miners shocks Bolivia
Back to Top Close
010020070750000000000000011103261356380941