– Democracy, coups, corruption –
“We’re here to defend democracy,” said Lucy Lopes 43, a history professor protesting in favor of Rousseff in Brasilia ahead of the vote.
The president, who was imprisoned and tortured under Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship, has branded the impeachment push as “coup,” an accusation that resonates with her base.
“They want to convict an innocent woman and save the corrupt,” Rousseff said Saturday. “What’s their legitimacy?”
However, opponents say Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Ignacio Lula de Silva have presided over more than a decade of mismanagement that has crippled the country.
And they blame the duo for the Petrobras scandal in which a cartel of executives and politicians robbed the giant corporation through inflated contracts — even if prominent figures on the pro-impeachment side have themselves been implicated.
“These are the people against corruption,” said Lilian Cristina de Claris, 45, who had come to Brasilia from Sao Paulo to attend an opposition rally.
– Scrambling for votes –
The lower house was due to start its session at about 1700 GMT then begin the vote shortly after. Voting was to be one deputy at a time and live on television, with each deputy given 10 seconds to make a statement.
Lula, who has spearheaded attempts to save Rousseff, said negotiations to secure support from undecided deputies were “like the stock market.”
“At one point one guy says he’s with us, then he’s not,” he said.
In an indication of the intensity of the contest, Rousseff canceled a planned public appearance Saturday to concentrate on the negotiations, while her arch rival Temer also changed his plans to spend the day in Sao Paulo, instead rushing back to Brasilia.
A leading opposition lawmaker, Mendonca Filho, told AFP that he was confident of getting the 342 votes. “But we can’t imagine that it will be easy,” he said. “We have to remain vigilant.”
The opposition also accused Lula of trying to “buy deputies” and demanded a police investigation.
Reflecting heightened tension, authorities deployed more than 4,000 members of the emergency services in Brasilia to separate rival protesters, who will also be divided by a long metal barrier that has rapidly become a symbol of the split in Latin America’s largest and most populous country.
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