More charges against Rousseff accuser
April 23, 2016, 8:59 pm

Cunha will face two more charges of bribery and perjury in the Supreme Court, Brazil’s Prosecutor General said on Saturday [Xinhua[

Lower House (Chamber of Deputies) Speaker Eduardo Cunha is already facing a slew of money laundering accusations but Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot says he will add two additional charges to the list.

“One charge has been received by the Supreme Court, a second is currently being tried and, if I remember correctly, six more charges are open against him, all for different illegal acts,” Janot told Brazil’s Globonews TV station.

Cunha has for months sought to impeach Rousseff.

Last week, the lower house of Brazil’s parliament supported the impeachment, with those seeking her ouster securing the support of two-thirds of votes.

The divide among the Brazilian people was demonstrated on Sunday by thousands of pro- and anti-impeachment protesters outside the Congress building where the vote was taking place.

As the votes trickled in favouring the impeachment bid, the ruling Workers Party conceded defeat.

“The fight is now in the courts, the street and the senate. We lost because the coup-mongers were stronger,” Jose Guimarães, the leader of the Workers party in the lower house, said.

But the additional charges against Cunha could give Rousseff’s supporters some reprieve.

According to Brazilian media, Cunha is suspected of having some five million dollars procured from his involvement in the Petrobras scandal secured in undeclared accounts in Switzerland.

Janot said that he has been trying to remove Cunha from office since December. A nationwide petition to remove Cunha has been signed by some 1.2 million Brazilians.

According to a Datafolha poll in early April, some 77 per cent of respondents wanted Cunha out of office.

Between 61 and 67 per cent said the same of Rousseff.

Rousseff’s impeachment will now be put forth in the upper house of parliament for the consideration of the senate.

If over 50 per cent of senators support it, Rousseff will leave her post for 180 days, during which Brazilian lawmakers will consider her case.

During that period, the country will be led by Vice President Michel Temer.

If senators disagree with the arguments of presidential impeachment initiators, Rousseff will return to her post. If Rousseff is found guilty, Temer will remain acting president until the 2018 elections.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies