Dilma Rousseff one step closer to political oblivion after Brazil sets stage for impeachment trial

After hours of tense and sometimes emotional debate, the Brazil Senate has now voted to move forward with the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

The vote in the upper house of the national Congress in Brasilia cast a bright and unwelcome spotlight on the country’s political turmoil at the very time that it is trying to put on its best face for the Summer Olympics under way in Rio de Janeiro.

By agreeing formally to indict Ms Rousseff, the Senate has opened the door to what is certain to be a wrenching trial of the one-time leftist guerrilla leader and head of the socialist-leaning Workers Party that will open in the same chamber the week after the closing ceremonies.

The lopsided 59-21 vote to indict Ms Rousseff was a stark reflection of her failure to persuade members of the Senate to see her side in a case that technically centres on allegations that she massaged the country’s fiscal books as she prepared for re-election three years ago.

There are now very few observers in Brazil who believe she can prevail at trial. If she is found guilty she will be permanently removed from office and the tenure of the man who replaced her, Michel Temer, will be confirmed. His term would end in 2018.

The margin in favour of indictment after a debate that lasted some 15 hours was especially discouraging for Ms Rousseff and her allies. For her to be convicted at trial at least 54 senators will need to be on side. That tally now seems entirely attainable by her political foes.

“This is not an easy situation,” Jose Eduardo Cardozo, who was attorney general under Ms Rousseff and is leading her defense, told Brazilian news portal G1 after the vote. He appeared to pin any dwindling hopes on a big enough number of senators balking when the moment comes actually to oust her for good. “The final vote isn't tethered to today's result,“ he said.

The more conservative Mr Temer, who was Ms Rousseff’s vice president, has been in charge of Brazil since her original suspension in May. Since then, he has been widely criticized for appointing an all-male, all-white cabinet. Three of his ministers have since been forced to resign for apparent links to a sprawling corruption probe that continues to shake the country.

Mr Temer, who has promised economic reforms designed to lift the economy out of its worst recession in decades but which also risk reversing many of the social policies introduced by the Workers’ Party, is 75 years old and said he will not run in the 2018 elections.