Brazilians look to movie scripts for help interpreting political crisis and impeachment proceedings

Brazil’s grinding political crisis lurched closer to the abyss this week when the speaker of the lower house of Congress agreed to start impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff based on allegations she misused state funds to mask budget problems.

The impeachment proceedings, which aren’t expected to go anywhere fast, were authorized on Wednesday by opposition House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who himself is implicated in a much larger bribery scandal.

Rousseff insists she’s innocent of any wrongdoing with public funds, and said she received the news of the impeachment proceedings “with indignation.” The president claims the opposition is trying to destabilize her administration in an attempt to negotiate a political bargain to wiggle out of their own corruption scandals.

“I would never accept or agree to any request for a bargain,” the president tweeted Wednesday night, with indignation.

With the government’s Christmas recess fast approaching, the impeachment proceedings are unlikely to move forward until the New Year—or even after Carnival, which starts in February. In any event, the fractious opposition doesn’t immediately appear to have the votes it needs to do anything more than cause a fuss.

The situation is, however, symptomatic of Brazil’s deepening woes caused by political corruption, government gridlock and the worst economic recession to hit the country in decades. The party is over in Brazil, and the hangover is a killer.