Brazil: Chamber of Deputies says vice-president cannot be impeached

The Chamber of Deputies filed an appeal Thursday (Apr. 7) against Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurélio Mello's ruling on Tuesday (5) upholding the impeachment petition against Vice-President Michel Temer and ordering the Chamber of Deputies to open the impeachment proceedings.

In the appeal document, lawyers of the Chamber of Deputies argued that Temer cannot be held accountable for decrees signed for budget additions, because he merely followed the “president's policy”. According to the defense, Temer “took over as the acting president only to continue a policy that had already been established by the president concerning the government policy, so he was not in a position to change the government's established direction.”

When the Supreme Court will hand down a ruling on the appeal is still open.

Translated by Mayra Borges