New speaker elected for Brazil lower house
Rodrigo Maia 
Deputy Rodrigo Maia was elected as the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in the early hours of Thursday (Jul. 14) with 285 votes. He will serve out the remainder of the current speakership term until February 2017. Deputy Rogério Rosso, his contender at the second round of voting, got 170 votes. The election follows the resignation of Deputy Eduardo Cunha from his role of speaker. A total of 14 candidates ran at the first round.
As he took over, Maia credited his victory to the support he received from parties in opposition to the government of interim President Michel Temer. “I wouldn't have won without [support from] the left wing. The result proves it's possible to create a new moment. We got votes from both the government allies and the opposition,” he pointed out.
Should the Senate remove suspended President Dilma Rousseff permanently with the impeachment verdict, Maia will become the second in line of presidential succession. Currently at his fifth term, he is the son of former Rio mayor César Maia. He vowed to preside over the house with simplicity and seek dialogue between the majority and the minority in the house.
“We've got a lot of work to do promoting peace and dialogue between the majority and minority in this house. We have a majority in government which is important for Brazil, but there are issues coming in from the society through each one of us that need to be discussed and voted on. Good ideas don't come up from the government alone, but also from each of our terms and every one of our constituents out there who have to deal with these issues in their daily lives,” he said.
After the results were announced, Maia thanked Rosso and said the contest was “fair and that's how it should be.” Rosso, in turn, said Maia's victory is a win for parliament. “I think his main task will be to bring this house together, all of its members,” he said. Some of the deputies even shouted “Get out Cunha!” in reference to Rosso being the candidate backed by the resigned speaker.
The new speaker has not yet set a deadline for the final vote on the proceedings to remove Eduardo Cunha from office in Congress. Asked about the matter, Maia praised Cunha's job as speaker, said he himself had helped elect Cunha, and pointed out the case should have its outcome “in accordance with the rules of the house” and when there is “appropriate quorum.”
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: New speaker elected for Brazil lower house
