Brazilian Lower House votes to impeach president Dilma Rousseff

In a historic and emphatic repudiation of President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s Lower House voted late Sunday to impeach the embattled leftist leader.

In a rowdy session presided over by house speaker Eduardo Cunha, voting ended late on Sunday evening with 367 of the 513 deputies backing impeachment, comfortably beyond the two-thirds majority of 342 needed to advance the case to the Upper House.

As the outcome became clear, Jose Guimar?es, the leader of the Workers Party in the Lower House, conceded defeat with more than 80 votes still to be counted. "The fight is now in the courts, the street and the senate," he said.

Rousseff is accused of using accounting tricks in managing the federal budget to maintain spending and shore up support. She has said previous presidents used similar maneuvers and stressed that she has not been charged with any crimes or implicated in any corruption scandals.

However, she failed to secure the support she needed, and more than the necessary two-thirds of lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies voted to oust her.

Source : Petra