Weeks of raucous debates inside Brazil’s Congress and rival protests outside came to a head Sunday as the country’s lower house prepared to vote on whether to impeach the President.
If the motion is approved, President Dilma Rousseff could be suspended as early as May. That would be about three months before the Summer Olympics kick off in Rio de Janeiro, an event that was supposed to showcase Brazil as a rising power on the global stage.
Two-thirds of the 513 lawmakers would need to approve the impeachment motion for it to continue to the Senate.
As lawmakers made fiery speeches and even sang during the debate, throngs of demonstrators waited outside.
Police erected a 1-kilometer-long barricade on the lawn in front of Congress to separate anti-government protesters from Rousseff supporters.
Advocates for impeachment dressed in yellow and green at protests across the country.
Pro-government supporters wore red, the colors of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party.
Critics cite recession, scandals
Opponents blame Rousseff for the worst recession in decades, now in its second year. They also hold her accountable for a massive bribery and corruption scandal that has engulfed dozens of politicians in the Workers’ Party and coalition government.
Although Rousseff has not been implicated in the scandal, for many years she was the chairwoman of Petrobras, the state-run oil company at the heart of the investigation.
Her supporters argue the impeachment trial is a petty revenge orchestrated by politicians accused of much more serious crimes.
Rousseff’s exit would mark the end of an era for the Workers’ Party, which assumed the presidential office in 2004 with the election of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
During Lula da Silva’s two terms, the left-leaning party was credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of extreme poverty through increased social spending, largely financed by booming commodities exports to China.
But under Rousseff, his handpicked successor, those exports dried up. The economy started to drop at the same time the corruption investigation revealed a history of bribes involving the country’s biggest construction companies, Petrobras and dozens of politicians.
Last month, Lula da Silva was taken in for questioning on suspicion he benefited from the scheme during his tenure and afterward.
A few days later, Rousseff sought to appoint her former mentor as her chief of staff, which would have given him certain protections from prosecution. The move fueled nationwide protests.
What happens next?
The problem is that there is no quick fix going forward.
If the impeachment trial goes to the Senate and is approved there, Rousseff would have to step down for 180 days to defend herself against accusations.
She would be replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, whose party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, has also been implicated in the corruption scheme and could be further weakened by the ongoing investigation.
Rousseff’s supporters have vowed to take to the streets in retaliation, ensuring a long battle ahead.