Brazil senate set to vote on suspended president Rousseff's impeachment

Brasilia, Aug 31: The Brazilian senate was set to vote on removing the country's suspended president -- Dilma Rousseff - on Wednesday (Aug 31) in a distressing impeachment trial. Rousseff's ouster would mean the end of 13 years of leftist rule in South America's largest country.

Senators loyal to Rousseff, Brazil's first woman president, debated into Tuesday (Aug 30) night in a final effort to avoid hwe impeachment, which looks very likely.

Sixty-eight-year-old Rousseff also gave an impassioned speech to save her post and accused her opponents of demeaning democracy by targeting a popularly elected president. She also denied of having done any wrong.

Rousseff, who belongs to the Workers' Party, is accused of taking illegal state loans to hide budgetary loopholes in 2014 to mask Brazil's problems as it faced a serious recession. The anti-incumbency mood against her regime also intensified with the country facing high rates of unemployment and inflation.

Two thirds of the country's senate - 54 of 81 senators - must vote in favour of Rousseff's impeachment to convict her.

If she is removed, Michel Temer, her former vice-president who turned into a bitter enemy, will be sworn in as her successor till the next elections in 2018.

Oneindia News