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Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment vote in Brazil's Congress – live updates Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment vote in Brazil's Congress – live updates
(35 minutes later)
2.13pm BST
14:13
The Senate session is finally underway, with the chamber’s president Renan Calheiro leading off with a long speech. There’s a steady din of senators chattering behind him. Portuguese speakers can follow along on Senate TV live here.
My colleague Jon Watts is in the room, with God himself, according to Calheiro.
Senate leader starts impeachment debate against Dilma, "with the protection of god I initiate our work." pic.twitter.com/ScRJzGIGcs
2.08pm BST
14:08
The men and women of Brazil’s congress are a motley lot: several of their leaders are themselves accused of corruption, including Senate president Renan Calheiro.
The Economist has compiled many of the strange reasons that federal deputies have given for their votes for and against impeachment so far, with translations.
You can read the full list (itself only a selection) here.
1.51pm BST
13:51
Senate president Renana Calheiro is talking to the press in Brasilia, and said that the first session has already been delayed 45 minutes. Live looks at the Senate show around half of the senators haven’t arrived on time for one of the most consequential votes in modern Brazilian history.
Sessão do impeachment já tem atraso de 45 minutos. Renan diz agora a jornalistas que "torceu" para que processo não chegasse ao Senado
Still no quorum to start session of #Brazil Senate - due to vote on #impeachment motion against president pic.twitter.com/jAjTTFBgkU
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My colleagues Jon Watts and Ana Athayde are in Brasilia helping cover the vote, and have sent along a quick guide of what we can expect from the Senate today.My colleagues Jon Watts and Ana Athayde are in Brasilia helping cover the vote, and have sent along a quick guide of what we can expect from the Senate today.
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12.46pm BST12.46pm BST
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Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of the impeachment of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, who faces being forced out of office by an unruly Congress that has accused her of illegally manipulating government accounts.Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of the impeachment of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, who faces being forced out of office by an unruly Congress that has accused her of illegally manipulating government accounts.
Rousseff’s nemesis in the affair is Eduardo Cunha, the machiavellian speaker of the House who is himself accused of corruption and has been suspended from his post. Similarly tangled up in the scandal are the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his chief of staff (allies of Rousseff), vice-president Michel Temer, who was last week fined for violating campaign law, and two more enemies of the president. Senate president Renan Calheiros is being investigated in a bribery investigation involving Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, and opposition leader Aécio Neves has been criticzed for his family’s secret bank account in Lichtenstein.Rousseff’s nemesis in the affair is Eduardo Cunha, the machiavellian speaker of the House who is himself accused of corruption and has been suspended from his post. Similarly tangled up in the scandal are the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his chief of staff (allies of Rousseff), vice-president Michel Temer, who was last week fined for violating campaign law, and two more enemies of the president. Senate president Renan Calheiros is being investigated in a bribery investigation involving Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, and opposition leader Aécio Neves has been criticzed for his family’s secret bank account in Lichtenstein.
It’s been chaotic. Protesters have taken to the streets for and against Rousseff, and even the lawmakers who’ve threatened her for months can’t seem to organize. On Monday the acting speaker of the House annulled the impeachment vote, claiming irregularities in the process, and was promptly challenged by senior senators. On Tuesday he changed his mind, clearing the way for an impeachment vote all over again.It’s been chaotic. Protesters have taken to the streets for and against Rousseff, and even the lawmakers who’ve threatened her for months can’t seem to organize. On Monday the acting speaker of the House annulled the impeachment vote, claiming irregularities in the process, and was promptly challenged by senior senators. On Tuesday he changed his mind, clearing the way for an impeachment vote all over again.
At the center of the struggle is Rousseff herself, a former Marxist guerrilla who was jailed and tortured in the 1970s and who, only a year and a half ago, won re-election in one of the nation’s largest democracies. Though she had managed to escape the corruption scandals that have plagued other lawmakers and her allies for years, a federal court last year said one of her economic measures in 2014 – taking loans from public banks to the treasury in order to make the economy look better – was illegal. At the center of the struggle is Rousseff herself, a former Marxist guerrilla who was jailed and tortured in the 1970s and who, only a year and a half ago, won re-election in one of the nation’s largest democracies. Though she had managed to escape the corruption scandals that have plagued other lawmakers and her allies for years, a federal court last year said one of her economic measures in 2014 – taking loans from public banks to mask the economy’s troubles – was illegal.
If a simple majority of the 81 senators vote to impeach – 41 is the magic number – Rousseff will be suspended for 180 days while Congress weighs whether to remove her from office for good. If they do so, Temer will likely take over in her stead. Rousseff has vowed to fight until the end, and dubbed him a “usurper”.If a simple majority of the 81 senators vote to impeach – 41 is the magic number – Rousseff will be suspended for 180 days while Congress weighs whether to remove her from office for good. If they do so, Temer will likely take over in her stead. Rousseff has vowed to fight until the end, and dubbed him a “usurper”.
In the background of the political drama are very real woes. Brazil’s economy is in its worst recession in a quarter of a century, low oil prices have deflated one of its most important exports, and there are huge inequalities of wealth. The nation is also the epicenter of the Zika virus crisis, and set to host the hugely expensive Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, a city as famous for its crime and favelas as its culture and beauty.In the background of the political drama are very real woes. Brazil’s economy is in its worst recession in a quarter of a century, low oil prices have deflated one of its most important exports, and there are huge inequalities of wealth. The nation is also the epicenter of the Zika virus crisis, and set to host the hugely expensive Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, a city as famous for its crime and favelas as its culture and beauty.
Related: A warrior to the end: Dilma Rousseff a sinner and saint in impeachment fightRelated: A warrior to the end: Dilma Rousseff a sinner and saint in impeachment fight
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