THE head of South America’s regional bloc has warned there is “no proof” of wrongdoing by embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Union of South American Nations (Unasur) secretary-general Ernesto Samper said on Saturday that other regional nations should be concerned that the impeachment process against Workers’ Party leader Ms Rousseff was proceeding apace despite a lack of evidence.

“Brazil is currently in the intensive care unit of Unasur,” he said.

“We see that the impeachment process against the president without … any proof or evidence against her that links her to any wrongdoing.

“The procedure against her and the possibility of her temporary or permanent removal from office would be a highly concerning issue for the whole region.”

Mr Samper spoke following a meeting of foreign ministers of the 12 Unasur member states at Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) in Ecuador, on the equator just north of the capital Quito.

The main focus of the meeting was the recent devastating earthquake in Ecuador, where the death toll reached 654 on Saturday, with 58 still missing.

Authorities said 113 people had been rescued after the quake and more than 25,000 people remained in shelters.

The Brazilian congress voted to start the impeachment process against Ms Rousseff on Sunday April 17 based on accusations that she had hidden extra spending in the 2014 election year.

Her main accuser is congressional speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is himself accused of taking millions in bribes in the “car wash” scandal at state oil company Petrobras.

His PMBD party colleague Vice-President Michel Temer stands to take over if the senate also votes, as expected, to back congress on the bid to oust Ms Rousseff.

Mr Samper said the ministers would set a date for a new meeting to discuss the political crisis in Brazil after Ms Rousseff appealed to Unasur and trade bloc Mercosur on Friday to help resist the “legislative coup.”

But on an optimistic note, Mr Samper said: “Brazil is a huge country with great capacity to assimilate its problems … We expect that the parties involved in the political crisis reiterate their commitment to democracy.

“We also expect that Dilma Rousseff overcomes the crisis and that she comes out of it completely free of any consequences,” the secretary-general said.