A session has begun in Brazil’s lower house of Congress on whether to back impeachment against President Dilma Rousseff over charges of fiddling government accounts.
As it got under way, several pro-Rousseff MPs disrupted proceedings by shouting ‘There won’t be a coup’.
Security has been stepped up outside the building in Brasilia as several thousand rival protesters gathered.
Ms Rousseff has accused her political opponents of mounting a “coup”.
She has been lobbying MPs amid indications there may be enough votes for the impeachment motion to carry.
A two-thirds majority – 342 out of 513 votes – are needed to send the motion to the upper house, the Senate, where a simple majority would be enough to suspend Ms Rousseff from office for up to 180 days during an impeachment trial, reports the BBC.
The debate on impeachment began on Friday, and the voting session started around 17:00GMT (18:00BST). Deputies will vote one by one in a televised session which is expected to last several hours.
