In Brazil, rapporteur argues for Rousseff's impeachment case

Opposition Senator Antonio Anastasia centered his arguments on the

Publicado em 04/05/2016 - 17:42 Por Carolina Gonçalves and Karine Melo report from Agência Brasil - Brasília

 Antonio Cruz/ Agência Brasil

Senator Antonio Anastasia Antonio Cruz/ Agência Brasil

More than one hour into a Wednesday (May 4) sitting of the Senate's special commission on impeachment, Senator Antonio Anastasia, rapporteur in the proceedings, finally started presenting his 126-page report backing the admissibility of the case for President Dilma Rousseff's ouster.

As expected, Anastasia rejected the arguments brought forward by the defense and ally senators, argued to move the case further in the upper house, but decided not to expand the probes against the president with information from Operation Car Wash. The closing sections of his text focused on topics already brought under scrutiny by the Chamber of Deputies.

The charges

By granting the request submitted by lawyers Janaína Paschoal, Hélico Bicudo, and Miguel Reale Jr., Anastasia decided there are signs of an impeachable offense that may provide the grounds for keeping Rousseff from office for 180 days in order to star the trial.

The first charge against the president concerns a delay in payments from the National Treasury to Banco do Brasil, which was deemed a fiscal maneuver. Allegedly, the fiscal deficit was concealed and the bank was forced to use its own funds to grant the loans to field workers benefited by Plano Safra with special fees. The other charge is the enactment of supplementary credit decrees with no permission from Congress.

On Thursday (5), Attorney-General José Eduardo Cardoso, in charge of the president's defense, will be given one hour to rebut Anastasia's remarks.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: In Brazil, rapporteur argues for Rousseff's impeachment case

Edição: Armando Cardoso / Olga Bardawil

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