If lawmakers approved the measure in a vote slated for Sunday, it gets sent to the Senate, where an impeachment trial could take place, prompting the president’s suspension from office.
The atmosphere in the lower Chamber of Deputies was electric, as Rousseff’s critics festooned themselves with yellow and green ribbons and brandished placards reading “Impeachment Now!”
Lawmakers backing impeachment allege Rousseff’s administration violated fiscal rules, using sleight of hand accounting in a bid to shore up public support. However, many of those pushing for impeachment face grave accusations of corruption themselves, prompting Rousseff and her supporters to decry the whole process as a bold-faced power grab by her foes.
Rousseff’s defenders insist she did nothing illegal, pointing out that similar accounting techniques were used by previous presidents.
Miguel Reale Junior, author of the impeachment petition, said Rousseff’s maneuvering directly led to the ills plaguing the recession-hit nation today, such as high inflation and the Brazilian real’s precipitous slide against the U.S. dollar in recent months.