Institutional crisis delays the "end of the world" amendment.
The Senate plenary session scheduled for this afternoon was canceled by the Senate's first vice-president, Jorge Viana (PT-AC), due to discussions surrounding the removal of Senate President Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), ordered yesterday by Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurélio Mello; the congressional session, which is chaired by the Senate president and should have taken place this morning, was also canceled; the cancellation may disrupt the deadline for voting on PEC 55, the spending cap amendment, scheduled for the 13th; to meet the deadline, senators would have to hold an extraordinary session on a day when no voting session is already scheduled; video
Yara Aquino - Reporter for Agência Brasil
The Senate plenary session scheduled for this afternoon (6) was cancelled due to discussions surrounding the removal of the Senate president, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), determined yesterday (5) by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) minister, Marco Aurélio. The session of the National Congress, which is chaired by the Senate president, and should have taken place this morning, was also cancelled.
The cancellation of the Senate session could disrupt the deadline for voting on Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 55, known as the Public Spending Cap Amendment, scheduled for the 13th. To meet the deadline, senators would have to hold an extraordinary session on a day when no voting session is already scheduled.
The president of the PSDB party, Senator Aécio Neves (MG), expressed concern about the vote on the proposed constitutional amendment and said that it should proceed regardless of who is president of the Senate. Senator Tião Viana (PT-AC), first in line to succeed the president of the Senate.
"One issue about which there can be no doubt is the vote on the Spending Cap Amendment on the 13th. It is the result of an agreement between the opposition and the government in this House. We cannot allow the possibility of a change in the presidency of the Senate to transform the chair of the highest leadership of this institution into a partisan bunker," said Aécio.
On the agenda for today's session of the National Congress were highlights of the 2017 Budget Guidelines Law (LDO) project, presidential vetoes, and bills with budgetary credit. The cancellation of the Senate session was ordered by the first vice-president of the Senate, Jorge Viana (PT-AC). On the agenda was the vote on the bill that updates the law on abuse of authority.
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This morning, the Senate filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to overturn Justice Marco Aurélio's preliminary decision that removes Renan from the presidency. Aécio Neves urged the Supreme Court to expedite the appeal's judgment.
"This impasse cannot last for another 24 hours. We appealed to Minister Cármen Lúcia [president of the Supreme Federal Court] that this issue be decided by the full Supreme Court by tomorrow at the latest. This power vacuum cannot continue due to a preliminary injunction issued by a Supreme Court justice," said the senator from the PSDB party.