RIO DE JANEIRO — President Dilma Rousseff launched into a bitter battle with a fragmented Congress on Thursday after impeachment proceedings were introduced against her in the lower house as Brazil falls deeper into a political and economic crisis.
Rousseff’s supporters came out in force and went on the attack against House of Deputies Speaker Eduardo Cunha. Among her defenders was former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rousseff’s political mentor who hand-selected her to take over for him and remains a powerful political force.
Cunha introduced impeachment proceedings Wednesday evening, citing a court’s finding that Rousseff’s administration violated fiscal responsibility laws by using money from state-run banks to fill budget gaps and pay for social programs.
Brazil is facing its deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression as consumer demand and commodity prices have plummeted, and a sprawling kickback scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras has cast a pall over the entire business community and frozen investments.
Analysts said the impeachment proceedings probably will make it out of the commission, but seem unlikely to get the needed two-thirds vote in the full house.