Brazil

Submitted by Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com,

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been suspended from office following a senate vote to initiate her impeachment trial on corruption allegations that lead back to state-run Petrobras, leaving vice-president Michel Temer to take over in the interim, while foreign oil companies wait anxiously to see what this will mean for the industry.

Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and refers to the impeachment process as a ‘’coup’’.

Following today's Brazilian Senate vote, which as reported earlier was expected to vote overwhelmingly to endorse Dilma Rousseff's impeachment and did just that in a 55-22 vote, Rousseff appealed to the public in a televized broadcast and condemned the move to impeach her as a "coup" and a "farce", denying she has committed any crimes.

In a vote whose outcome was largely expected, moments ago the Brazilian Senate concluded a marathon 21 hour session with a 55 to 22 vote to suspend President Dilma Rousseff from office to face an impeachment trial, ushering in a new government to take command of Latin America’s largest economy. Rousseff will be tried on allegations she illegally doctored fiscal accounts to mask the size of the budget deficit.

Doctors have warned that the 2016 Rio Olympics will spark a “full-blown public health disaster”, due to the ongoing Zika virus emergency in Brazil.  The Zika virus has spread throughout South America since May 2015 and latin America has been officially declared a health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). Rio de Janeiro has the highest number of suspected cases than any other area, and doctors have warned that the 2016 Olympic Games could create a global health disaster if they go ahead.

Another day, another stunning reversal in Brazil's neverending Rousseff impeachment saga.

Just hours after Brazilian stocks and currency tumbled when the head of Brazil's lower house Waldir Maranhao said he would annul the soon to be former president's impeachment process, the drive to oust President Dilma Rousseff is once again back on track after Maranhao reversed a decision that had earlier threatened to throw the entire impeachment process into chaos.