Brazil Senate Chief Says Rousseff Impeachment to Continue

Brazil’s Senate will move ahead with impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, said the head of the chamber, Renan Calheiros.

Earlier on Monday, interim lower house President Waldir Maranhao said he had annulled last month’s impeachment vote in the lower house because of procedural irregularities. The move raised questions about the future of the impeachment process and prompted a selloff of Brazilian assets.

Calheiros said he “doesn’t recognize” Maranhao’s decision and will move forward with the impeachment motion. The Senate was scheduled to vote as early as Wednesday whether to put Rousseff on trial and temporarily remove her from office on charges of illegally financing the budget deficit.

In his decision, Maranhao argued that parties shouldn’t have given guidance to legislators on how to vote and that legislators shouldn’t have announced their voting intention ahead of time.