Renan: final impeachment trial could last up to five days.

247 - The president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), said this Wednesday, the 13th, that the final judgment of the impeachment process against elected president Dilma Rousseff is expected to last up to five days.

The date for the start of the trial should be set on or after August 25th. Senators will still have time to speak before the final vote.

The defense has until July 27th to also present its final arguments. On August 2nd, the rapporteur of the process, Senator Antonio Anastasia (PSDB-MG), will present his report, which will be discussed and voted on by the Special Impeachment Committee the following day.

If the panel approves the opinion, which is expected to be in favor of removing the Workers' Party member from office, there will be an interim vote in the Senate plenary on August 9th. This is called the pronouncement of the defendant, which is when Dilma can become a defendant in fact. Four days after this vote, the president of the Supreme Federal Court, Ricardo Lewandowski, will then schedule the final trial session. He has to set a date at least ten days in advance.

Balance

Throughout the first half of 2016, the Federal Senate approved 138 items, including proposed amendments to the Constitution, bills and provisional measures. The President of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, listed, at the end of the plenary session this Wednesday (14), the 70 main items approved by the House.

Among them are the provisional measure that allows the use of the Severance Indemnity Fund (FGTS) as collateral for payroll-deducted loans (MPV 719/2016) and the proposed amendment to the Constitution that establishes a new special regime for the payment of court-ordered debts (PEC) 159/2015.

Also included in the list of proposals approved by the Senate are the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 30/2016, which sets a maximum limit for the expenses of state legislative assemblies and courts of accounts; and the Provisional Measure (MP) 718/2016, which deals with tax measures related to the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brazil.

Renan thanked the senators for their efforts in reviewing matters ready for deliberation and for advancing other important proposals such as the autonomy of the Central Bank and the bill dealing with outsourcing and regulating the labor activity of more than 13 million Brazilians. The president noted that the Senate did not paralyze its activities even during a period in which the country is going through an institutional crisis.

"These votes were taken, we cannot forget, amidst a severe economic and political crisis, but which, contrary to what one might imagine, did not paralyze the activities of the Federal Senate. The Senate has been a pillar of temperance, sobriety, and stability in the current moment of our Republic," he noted.