Brazil President Dilma Rousseff is in hot waters after Senator Delcidio Amaral slammed her with corruption allegations. Amaral linked Rousseff to the scandal currently surrounding state oil company Petrobras, in which the incumbent president allegedly overcharged for contracts with the company and appropriated the proceeds for her electoral campaign.
President Rousseff has denied any involvement in the Petrobras graft scheme and is planning to sue Senator Amaral for defamation.
In an interview, Senator Delcidio Amaral said that former president and Rousseff's predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva masterminded the scheme and "negotiated the appointment of Petrobras's directors with the different parties in Congress and knew exactly what the parties did with the directorships, mainly in terms of financing their campaigns."
The Telegraph reported that Amaral added that "Dilma inherited and benefitted directly from this system."
Lula's subsequent appointment as Rousseff's chief of staff was also mired with criticism as it was seen as a last-ditch effort to protect him from corruption charges. The Supreme Court suspended the appointment on Friday and the court will have to render an en banc decision on whether Lula can take office or not.
The scandal has erupted into a massive crisis in Brazilian politics, which has also led to angry protests seeking to oust President Dilma Rousseff.
According to The Independent, a poll conducted by Datafolha revealed that 68 percent of the respondents surveyed voted to impeach Rousseff. An abysmal 10 percent graded Rousseff's administration good or excellent while 69 percent rated it bad or terrible.
Lula's rating also saw a steep decline. From his almost 90 percent in 2010 when he was leaving office, the former Brazilian president is down with 57 percent saying they disapprove of him.
In answer to the public clamor for Rousseff's removal from office, Congress' lower house has initiated impeachment proceedings against Rousseff based on allegations that deliberately misappropriated government funds to support and boost her chances of winning a second term as president during the 2014 elections.
Brazil's ruling coalition party could not rally the required one-third votes of the 81-seat Senate to block impeachment proceedings.
However, senior officers of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party told Reuters that if the lower house gives a go signal for the impeachment trial, they will lack one-half of votes in the Senate to refuse a request to try Rousseff there.
If an impeachment pushes through, Rousseff will be suspended from office and Vice President Michel Temer will take over for the next six months pending the trial.
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