Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has said that she is “outraged” by a vote in Congress to authorize impeachment proceedings against her.
Rousseff emotionally said on Monday that she would continue to fight for her political survival and that there was no legal basis for any impeachment.
She is accused of making illegal accounting moves to mask government shortfalls during her 2014 re-election, but she has not been accused of corruption.
Many Brazilians also hold her responsible for the failing economy and a corruption scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras – a perception that has left her government with 10 percent approval ratings.
Brazilian legislators voted in favour of impeaching Rousseff on Sunday after a contest that has deeply divided the country and could end more than a decade of left-wing rule.
The motion will now go to the Senate which will vote, probably in May, on whether to open a trial.