18 April 2016•Update: 26 April 2016
By María Paz Salas
SANTIAGO, Chile
Brazilian lawmakers voted late Sunday in favor to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.
By a 366-135 margin in the lower house of Congress, the result could lead to the end of 13 years of the leftist government rule of the Workers Party.
To move forward, the measure needed a two-thirds majority of 342 votes in the Chamber of Deputies.
The final decision now depends on the Senate that will have to form a special committee to consider the admissibility of Rousseff´s case.
The Senate must then decide with a simple majority. Senators could approve the start of the process as polls show at least 47 votes in favor of impeachment but just 41 are needed, according to the Folha De S.Paulo newspaper.
Rousseff is accused of violating fiscal rules to mask budget issues in the lead up to the 2014 presidential elections.
The political crisis in the country is compounded by a rash of corruption cases amid Brazil’s worst economic recession since 1930.
If the Senate approves the measure, Rousseff would be suspended from office for up to 180 days during the trial.
The country’s leadership would then fall to Vice President Michel Temer, who is also under investigation.
If Rousseff is found guilty, Temer would serve out the remainder of her term that ends in 2018.
The process has polarized Brazil.
Tens of thousands of pro and anti-impeachment protesters gathered in major cities to watch the vote that was broadcast live.
Demonstrations were also held outside Congress in Brasilia.
