Brazil President, Dilma Rouseff

Brazil’s Senate has begun to debate whether President Dilma Rousseff should face a full impeachment trial.

If a simple majority votes in favour, as is expected, Ms Rousseff will be automatically suspended from office.

Ahead of the vote, Ms Rousseff asked the Supreme Court to block proceedings against her, citing irregularities.

The president is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies.

The move to impeach President Rousseff has divided Brazil. Earlier on Wednesday, her supporters set up burning barricades and blocked roads, causing widespread disruption across all Brazilian states.

Wednesday’s debate started an hour late. Senate President Renan Calheiros warned: “There won’t be changes; the session will be conducted with absolute normalcy. Any delay won’t be good for Brazil.”

Senator Gleisi Hoffman, a former chief of staff to Ms Rousseff, called the proceedings “unjust”.

“The legal procedures that are going to be used here today to achieve the removal of President Dilma (Rousseff) would not be used against any other governing politician. They were created exclusively to annul the results of the last election,” he said.

(BBC)