Rousseff’s impeachment was expected to bar her from office of any kind for the next eight years.
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A string of corruption scandals, led by the Petrobras scheme, has engulfed Brazil’s political class and business elites over the past 2.5 years.
The move appeared to demonstrate unease among some senators, notably within Temer’s own fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), over whether a budgetary sleight of hand that is common in Brazil was truly an impeachable offence.
Last month, diplomats from Brazil and Uruguay traded barbs over the latter’s accusation that Brasilia was trying to “buy” its vote to block Venezuela from taking the rotating presidency of the region’s Mercosur trade bloc.
José Eduardo Cardozo, Rousseff’s attorney, said she had never been accused of using public funds to benefit her family, and in an emotional speech said: “If you want to condemn her, go ahead, but don’t mock the honor of a dignified woman”.
Three of Temer’s ministers had to quit within days of being named because of corruption allegations.
When Temer announced the opening of the Olympics on August 5, he was so vociferously booed that he remained out of sight for the remainder of the games.
Head of the Federal Supreme Court Ricardo Lewandowski (R) talks with Senator Aecio Neves during the final impeachment session of Brazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia Aug. 30, 2016. While previous petitions to the court have failed to stop the impeachment process, legal wrangling at the very least will keep the issue front and center. Temer has promised to pull the country of 200 million people from its recession by tackling reforms that have always been taboo, such as slimming public pensions.
However, Temer’s struggle to consolidate power will face repeated challenges from the Workers’ Party and allied leftist organizations. “It’s you who is breaking the constitution”.
“From today on, the expectations are much higher for the government”, Temer said.
New elections would first require that Temer resign, which he has no intention of doing. “Without the reform, in a few years the government will be unable to pay the retired citizens’ pensions”, he said. “I hope that in these two years and four months, we do what we have declared – put Brazil back on track”, he told his supporters.
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Rousseff waves to supporters before speaking from the official residence of the president, Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on August 31.
