President of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, centre at the table, starts the session on whether or not to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, in Brasilia, Brazil. April 17, 2016. AP Photo/Eraldo Peres
Brazil’s congress has given the go-ahead to impeach President Dilma Rousseff - who a year and a half ago received the votes of 54 million Brazilians. A majority in the legislature has launched the process, which will now pass to the senate, despite the fact that Dilma is not accused of criminal responsibility - which under Brazilian law, is the only justification for impeaching the head of state.
One paradox is that while the President has not been involved in any case of corruption, of the 513 members of Congress, no fewer than 299 are under judicial investigation and 76 have already been found guilty.
