RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The man who would take over if Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is impeached, Vice President Michel Temer, could now be running that same risk of impeachment.
Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello ruled Tuesday that the lower house of Congress must open impeachment proceedings against Temer because he faces the same allegations of breaking fiscal rules as Rousseff.
Mello ruled a commission must be created to examine the impeachment request against Temer – the same procedure Rousseff is now going through.
The request was among four filed against Temer – all of which were dismissed by the speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha. He is a key ally and member of the same party, as well as an enemy of Rousseff. Mello ruled that Cunha overstepped his role by deciding to shelve the filing because he determined it lacked merit.
Mello’s ruling reverses Temer’s dismissals in one of the filings, although Cunha can appeal the decision to the full court.