TURMOIL IN BRAZIL AFTER VOTE ON IMPEACHMENT

• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Monday appeared on the verge of losing office amid signs of tenuous support for her in the Senate, which will decide whether to remove her as the country endures a political and economic crisis.

The 367-137 lower house vote in favour of impeachment Sunday sent the issue to the Senate, where 45 of the 81 senators have indicated they will vote to hold an impeachment trial, according to local reports.

If a majority there votes to put Rousseff on trial, she’d be suspended while Vice-President Michel Temer temporarily takes over.

Under the complicated guidelines of the impeachment process, it could be a little more than 10 days until that vote is cast and a minimum of 40 days until the Rousseff’s fate is decided. However, the speed of the process also depends on the political will of Senate boss Renan Calheiros, who could potentially drag the eventual trial and final vote out for months.

Rousseff was expected to meet with Calheiros late Monday.

Workers’ Party congressman Jose Guimaraes, the government’s leader in the lower house, was among the allies who met with Rousseff in the morning, just hours after her stinging defeat. He told reporters following the meeting, “it’s impressive in what high spirits she is.”

Guimaraes said he and the other close confidants of Rousseff at Monday’s meeting reassured her of their loyalty and said the government’s strategy would be to “hold up the coup in the Senate.”

The impeachment vote has deeply divided Brazilians, tens of thousands of whom demonstrated in front of Congress and in cities nationwide during the vote.

Many hold Rousseff responsible for everything from the devastating recession to chronic high taxes and poor public services. At the same time, a broad swath of the population attributes tens of millions of poor Brazilians’ rise from destitution over the past decade to Rousseff’s Workers Party and decried the vote as anti-democratic.

The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff are based on accusations she used illegal accounting tricks to shore up her flagging support through public spending.

Rousseff insists the accusations are a flimsy excuse by Brazil’s traditional ruling elite to grab power back from her left-leaning party, which has ruled the country for 13 years.

Editorials in Brazil’s top newspapers highlighted the danger posed by the political instability.

The Estado de S. Paulo newspaper warned of “the threat of strikes and daily demonstrations.” Folha de S. Paulo urged speed in resolving the problem, adding, “The crisis is far from over.”