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| Brazil Senate set to vote on impeachment trial for Rousseff | Brazil Senate set to vote on impeachment trial for Rousseff |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Brazil's Senate is debating whether President Dilma Rousseff should face a full impeachment trial. | Brazil's Senate is debating whether President Dilma Rousseff should face a full impeachment trial. |
| If a simple majority votes in favour, as is expected, Ms Rousseff will be automatically suspended from office. | If a simple majority votes in favour, as is expected, Ms Rousseff will be automatically suspended from office. |
| Ms Rousseff made a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected. | Ms Rousseff made a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected. |
| The president is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies. | The president is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies. |
| The move to impeach President Rousseff has divided Brazil. On Tuesday, her supporters set up burning barricades and blocked roads, causing widespread disruption across all Brazilian states. | The move to impeach President Rousseff has divided Brazil. On Tuesday, her supporters set up burning barricades and blocked roads, causing widespread disruption across all Brazilian states. |
| Wednesday's debate started an hour late. Senate President Renan Calheiros warned: "There won't be changes; the session will be conducted with absolute normality. Any delay won't be good for Brazil." | Wednesday's debate started an hour late. Senate President Renan Calheiros warned: "There won't be changes; the session will be conducted with absolute normality. Any delay won't be good for Brazil." |
| Senator Gleisi Hoffman, a former chief of staff to Ms Rousseff, called the proceedings "unjust". | Senator Gleisi Hoffman, a former chief of staff to Ms Rousseff, called the proceedings "unjust". |
| "The legal procedures that are going to be used here today to achieve the removal of President Dilma (Rousseff) would not be used against any other governing politician. They were created exclusively to annul the results of the last election," she said. | "The legal procedures that are going to be used here today to achieve the removal of President Dilma (Rousseff) would not be used against any other governing politician. They were created exclusively to annul the results of the last election," she said. |
| A critical moment: Analysis by Wyre Davies, BBC Brazil correspondent | A critical moment: Analysis by Wyre Davies, BBC Brazil correspondent |
| What has been a long, damaging and divisive political process is at a critical moment as the 81 members of the Brazilian Senate prepare to vote on whether or not to subject Dilma Rousseff to a full impeachment trial. | What has been a long, damaging and divisive political process is at a critical moment as the 81 members of the Brazilian Senate prepare to vote on whether or not to subject Dilma Rousseff to a full impeachment trial. |
| The beleaguered president denies the charges against her - that she illegally concealed the scale of the budget deficit. Brazil's first female leader says that what is really happening, first in the lower house of Congress and now in the Senate, is a judicial coup by her political opponents to remove her from office. | The beleaguered president denies the charges against her - that she illegally concealed the scale of the budget deficit. Brazil's first female leader says that what is really happening, first in the lower house of Congress and now in the Senate, is a judicial coup by her political opponents to remove her from office. |
| Whatever the real reasons for impeachment, there is no doubt that Ms Rousseff's leftist Workers' Party is deeply unpopular, with Brazil in the middle of an economic crisis and her government embroiled in a huge corruption scandal. | Whatever the real reasons for impeachment, there is no doubt that Ms Rousseff's leftist Workers' Party is deeply unpopular, with Brazil in the middle of an economic crisis and her government embroiled in a huge corruption scandal. |
| In a recent interview with the BBC, Ms Rousseff appeared to acknowledge that she would be suspended pending an impeachment trial but she said would fight to clear her name and fully intended to resume the final two years of her presidency. | In a recent interview with the BBC, Ms Rousseff appeared to acknowledge that she would be suspended pending an impeachment trial but she said would fight to clear her name and fully intended to resume the final two years of her presidency. |
| Opposition Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira accused Ms Rousseff of lying to stay in power. | Opposition Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira accused Ms Rousseff of lying to stay in power. |
| "The results of this government's policies... can be seen by anyone who goes around the roads of my city (Sao Paulo) - boarded up shops everywhere, despair and dismay. This is the result of the crimes committed by the president," he said. | "The results of this government's policies... can be seen by anyone who goes around the roads of my city (Sao Paulo) - boarded up shops everywhere, despair and dismay. This is the result of the crimes committed by the president," he said. |
| If the vote goes against her, Ms Rousseff will be replaced by Vice-President Michel Temer while the impeachment trial lasts. | If the vote goes against her, Ms Rousseff will be replaced by Vice-President Michel Temer while the impeachment trial lasts. |
| She says Mr Temer is a traitor who is taking part in a political coup against her democratically elected government. | She says Mr Temer is a traitor who is taking part in a political coup against her democratically elected government. |
| Senate President Mr Calheiros has said he wants the vote to happen on Wednesday evening. | Senate President Mr Calheiros has said he wants the vote to happen on Wednesday evening. |
| Mr Temer was spending Wednesday in meetings with allies, Brazil's O Globo newspaper reported. | Mr Temer was spending Wednesday in meetings with allies, Brazil's O Globo newspaper reported. |
| If the vote is in favour of an impeachment trial, Ms Rousseff is expected to dismiss her entire Cabinet on Wednesday, ruling party Senator Humberto Costa said, according to Reuters. | If the vote is in favour of an impeachment trial, Ms Rousseff is expected to dismiss her entire Cabinet on Wednesday, ruling party Senator Humberto Costa said, according to Reuters. |
| That would allow Mr Temer to appoint his own Cabinet when he takes power on Thursday. | That would allow Mr Temer to appoint his own Cabinet when he takes power on Thursday. |
| Brazil's Attorney General Eduardo Cardozo, the government's top lawyer, said on Tuesday that the Supreme Court should annul impeachment proceedings, arguing that they were politically motivated. | Brazil's Attorney General Eduardo Cardozo, the government's top lawyer, said on Tuesday that the Supreme Court should annul impeachment proceedings, arguing that they were politically motivated. |
| The court rejected the appeal on Wednesday. | The court rejected the appeal on Wednesday. |
| Meanwhile, Ms Rousseff promised to fight to the end. | Meanwhile, Ms Rousseff promised to fight to the end. |
| "I will not resign. That never crossed my mind," she said during a speech at a women's rights conference in the capital Brasilia on Tuesday. | "I will not resign. That never crossed my mind," she said during a speech at a women's rights conference in the capital Brasilia on Tuesday. |