Impeachment pre-vote debates at Brazil's Chamber of Deputies begin today
The floor of the Chamber of Deputies before the final lower house debates on impeachment
The debate leading toward the vote on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies that will decide whether President Dilma Rousseff should stay as head of Brazil's government or be tried on impeachment by the Senate begin this Friday (Apr. 15). In the morning, one of the lawyers who filed the impeachment petition, Miguel Reale Junior, will argue his case. Then, Attorney-General José Eduardo Cardozo will present the defense arguments for Rousseff.
Lawyer Miguel Reale
The debates will take place over a series of four-hour sittings which can be extended by one more hour. There will be as many five-hour sittings as required until the ultimate vote is completed, which is expected to take place on Sunday (17).
After the prosecution and the defense have argued their cases, the 25 parties with seats at the Chamber of Deputies will each be allowed to take the floor for one hour, regardless of the size of the party caucuses in the house. The time may be split among up to five members of the party. The leaders of the majority (government) and the minority (opposition) will also be given one-hour floor times.
Under the house rules, the time allowed for each party to take the floor must not be abbreviated unless the party itself chooses to do so. If all parties decide to use the full times they are entitled to, this debate phase will last for over 27 hours. This means the session would continue throughout Friday [including the night] and part of Saturday (16).
On Saturday, the sitting is set to begin at 11am for previously arranged floor statements. Party leaders will be allowed lengths of time in proportion to their caucuses at every sitting.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Impeachment pre-vote debates at Brazil's Chamber of Deputies begin today
