Brazil govt says it has support to see impeachment voted down at lower house

The government believes President Dilma Rousseff will get enough favorable votes to prevent an impeachment motion from being approved by the Chamber of Deputies next Sunday (Apr. 17) and to establish a new coalition that can rebuild governance. According to the head of the Government Secretariat, Ricardo Berzoini, the government's concern, more than the vote Sunday, is to “give stability to the country”.

Berzoini said the government is working to try to avert impeachment “deputy by deputy” as the Chamber of Deputies moves toward its final word on the impeachment motion. According to Berzoini, President Rousseff has personally contacted deputies who are open to hear her points. The president met party leaders and cabinet members Wednesday (Abr. 13), including those in the PMDB party, which left the governing coalition on March 29. More recently, other parties with a significant presence in the Chamber of Deputies, including the PP, the PSD and the PRB, also walked away and announced they would support impeachment.

According to Berzoini, the government has been trying to prove that the impeachment case is unfounded because Rousseff has not committed high crimes and misdemeanors. “[Our] talks with Congress are completely frank and straightforward to show we cannot dabble with democracy. This is not about liking or disliking the government or supporting or not supporting the president, this is about upholding democracy, a key asset of Brazilians,” he said.

He went on to say that the impeachment vote on Sunday should not be misused for an “indirect election”. “We are convinced that we will get enough favorable votes to stop this coup and create the foundations to build a new governing coalition, one that ensures governance. We believe we can  expect to get more than 200 votes,” Berzoini said.

Translated by Mayra Borges