Postponing impeachment vote on Ms. Rousseff until August 31

(Baonghean.vn) - The final debate on the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff lasted until late on August 30 (local time, early this morning Vietnam time) due to the large number of lawmakers who signed up to speak. The Brazilian Senate decided to postpone the vote to August 31, instead of August 30 as originally planned.

Ms. Dilma Rousseff defends herself during a hearing on August 30. Photo: AP

Many lawmakers had signed up to speak during the final debate, so Ricardo Lewandowski, the Supreme Court Chief Justice who presided over the impeachment trial of President Rousseff, announced that the vote could not take place on August 30 as scheduled.

According to Mr. Ricardo Lewandowski, the impeachment session will be adjourned after all the lawmakers have finished speaking and will resume on the morning of August 31.

One of the lawmakers who spoke yesterday was Fernando Collor, who also resigned as President of Brazil in 1992 amid corruption allegations. He is now one of the lawyers involved in the investigation into the Petrobras scandal.

However, Mr. Collor supports the impeachment of Ms. Rousseff and argues that his past case and Ms. Rousseff's case are completely different. "I am the victim of a coup, Ms. Rousseff is not," Mr. Collor said.

On August 30, the prosecution and defense presented their final arguments.

Janaina Paschoal, the prosecuting attorney, accused Rousseff of violating fiscal responsibility laws in managing the federal budget. “We are not talking about small audit errors, we are talking about fraud,” said Janaina Paschoal. At the end of her presentation, lawyer Janaina Paschoal cried and expressed her hope that Rousseff would forgive her for “the pain I have caused her.”

Rousseff's lawyer, Jose Eduardo Cardozo, also delivered an emotional defense, calling Paschoal's tearful comments "insulting."

Ms. Dilma Rousseff will be removed from office if at least 54 lawmakers support this decision in the final voting session today (August 31).

Rousseff's supporters say if she is removed from office, they will take the case to the Federal Supreme Court.

Diep Khanh

(According to USA Today)