Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vows to 'fight until the last minute' over impeachment call

President vows to implement reforms that would "heal the rift" at the centre of Brazil's political landscape

President Dilma Rousseff faces an impeachment vote in Congress this weekend (Getty Images)

Embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has vowed to fight “until the last minute of the second half” to preserve the government’s mandate, as impeachment proceedings against her took a dramatic turn on Wednesday.

Ms Rousseff pledged in an interview on Wednesday that, should she win, she would propose a national pact and reforms that would include all political parties collaborating to repair the damage wrought by the political crisis in the country.

Ms Rousseff, who is accused of mismanaging the economy, said: “The crisis in the country is so serious that there is no other solution than to heal the rift with a pact that brings everyone back on board to rebuilding Brazil.”

Her promise follows the surprise move on Wednesday by the leader of the Congress, Eduardo Cunha, who announced that the voting schedule for the impeachment on Sunday will start with legislators from the southern states of the country.

The Worker’s Party immediately petitioned the Supreme Court asking that the call order of the voting deputies should be done alphabetically and not by region.

Party members argued that Mr Cunha’s strategy “is illegal” and a cynical ploy to ensure opponents win the impeachment vote as the south, whose members are predominately against the government, will influence the largely undecided northern politicians.

It comes as the odds begin to stack up against Ms Rousseff’s survival in government, with coalition parties “jumping ship” at the last minute following the decisive majority vote for impeachment by legislators earlier this week.

The proceedings will be debated on Friday with the vote taken this Sunday on whether the case against Ms Rousseff should be sent to the Senate. Two thirds of the 513 members in the congress must move to support the case for it to go ahead.

The beleaguered government can currently count on between 100 and 120 votes and must win a further 52 to avoid impeachment proceedings.