Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is fighting for survival as the Chamber of Deputies is expected to vote Sunday on a motion to impeach her.
The opposition has alleged that Rousseff’s administration broke the law by shifting government funds to shore up public support in the face of a flagging economy before her re-election in 2014.
The 68-year-old Rousseff, an economist by training, has said that such accounting was common practice, insisting that she did not commit any crime.
On the eve of the vote in the lower house of Congress, the leftist leader published an opinion in the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo, saying that she was the victim of a "coup" by “corrupt” politicians against the Republic (of Brazil), against democracy and, above all, against the votes of all Brazilians.
At least 342 of 512 votes, or two-thirds of the lower house, are needed to approve the impeachment before the case would move to Senate. If the Senate accepts the case, Rousseff would be suspended for up to 180 days and Vice President Michel Temer would become acting-president.
If 54 of the Senate's 81 members vote for impeachment, Rousseff would be out of office and Temer would complete her term, ending on December 31, 2018.
Brazil’s political crisis threatens to destabilize Latin America's biggest economy as it is going through a crippling recession and prepares to host the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
