Brazilian Courtroom Suspends Impeachment Procedures Against President Rousseff

This gave much needed breathing space to Rousseff, who less than a year into her second term is fighting for her political life.

A third of the lawmakers on the committee that is meant to decide whether Rousseff should be impeached are under investigation by the Supreme Court for corruption, money laundering, electoral fraud and other crimes, according to Congresso em Foco, a prominent Brasilia watchdog group. Shares of state-controlled oil producer and refiner Petroleo Brasileiro or Petrobras (PBR), the subject of the corruption investigation, have rallied 4%.

Rousseff was left reeling by indications in a leaked letter that her vice president Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, could withdraw his support because he felt she had shown “absolute lack of confidence” in him.

Last week, lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha, a Rousseff foe, authorized the opening of impeachment proceedings against the president for allegedly resorting to irregular accounting maneuvers aimed at disguising the size of the budget deficit.

The commission was elected Tuesday in the lower house of Congress. However, the results were suspended hours later by the Supreme Court, acting on a complaint by Rousseff supporters that the opposition had organized the vote in an unconstitutional manner.

Rousseff suffered her first setback on Tuesday, when the house voted to appoint a committee stacked with her opponents to report on whether she committed an impeachable offense.

Cunha faces several accusations of taking bribes on Petrobras contracts and stashing millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts. On Wednesday, an ethics committee was expected to vote – following repeated delays – on whether to open an enquiry, which could then lead to Cunha being forced out. If Rousseff is forced from office, Temer would become interim president.

Adding to Brazil’s political crisis is a growing rift between Rousseff and her vice president, whose fractious PMDB party is divided over the impeachment of the president and moving closer to breaking away from her coalition. It was seen as a defeat for the president, who has sought to win over enough lawmakers to stop the proceedings.

 The government lost the vote on whether the impeachment process should proceed by 272 against 199.

“Removal of Picciani from the PMDB leadership hastens the dismantling of Rousseff’s parliamentary base”, said Senator Aloysio Nunes of the main opposition PSDB party.