Jurists disagree on impeachment proceedings

The stance that the Brazilian Congress will adopt when facing the initiation of President Dilma Rousseff's ouster proceedings is not unanimous among jurists. For Professor Walber Agra, from the Law Faculty of Recife, the decision on impeachment shortly after the Congress approved the 2015 fiscal target revision, going from a $17.2 billion surplus to a $30.87 billion deficit, weakens the parliamentary argument in favor of impeachment.

For Agra, if deputies vote for ousting the president, they may incur on "loss of legitimacy of arguments," since the charges filed for ousting, submitted to the lower house, have been grounded on the rejection of the 2014 government's accounting practices by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), exactly due to the budget changes.

For Thales Cerqueira, specialist in election law and Minas Gerais prosecutor, the Congress "has been forced" to change the budget target not to wreck the economy and to be able to cover basic costs, like staff pay, "Otherwise, not even ordinary expenses would be paid," he said.

"This revision on the target was to safeguard the economy. [Lawmakers] can justify that they had to approve [the revision] because of cosmetic accounting practices," added Cerqueira. He understands that the National Congress has been hold "hostage" of the delay to transfer funds to the state-led banks, Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil, related to government's expenses on social programs.

Cerqueira believes that there is enough evidence to justify the initiation of the president's impeachment proceedings. "The impeachment is connected not only to delays to transfers funds. The great evil is the history of corruption since the Mensalão corruption scandal broke out," he said. On the other hand, Walber Agra said Rousseff faces a "comfortable" legal situation, because "currently there is not" enough consistent evidence for her ouster. "But with Operation Car Wash, we never know," he noted.

For him, the voting on the 2014 government's accounting practices in Congress will be decisive for foretelling Dilma Rousseff's future. If rejected, the president could be framed for “crime of responsibility”, as stated in Article 85 of the Federal Constitution.

"The impeachment proceedings need to comply with two requirements: be approved in the lower house by two-thirds of votes, and then, submitting the chief to the Article 85. If Congress approves TCU's recommendation [to reject the accounting practices], it is possible to frame the president for crimes against the budget law, which is one of the 'crimes of responsability'” Agra reported.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta