Temer, who was in an uncomfortable partnership with Rousseff before finally splitting from her, will be president until the next scheduled elections in late 2018.
Advertisement
While Rousseff’s impeachment was widely expected, the decision was a key chapter in a colossal political struggle that is far from over.
The Senate voted Wednesday to convict Rousseff on charges of having illegally manipulated government accounts, stripping her of her office and replacing her with Temer, her bitter enemy and former vice president.
Behind the narrow allegations of breaking budget laws, what led a majority of Brazilians to back impeachment was a sense that Rousseff mismanaged the economy and was lenient on rampant corruption.
Better known as a backroom wheeler-dealer than street politician, Temer took over in an interim role after Rousseff’s initial suspension in May.
Three hours later, Temer – her center-right former vice president and one time crucial coalition partner whom she now accuses of orchestrating a coup against her – was sworn in.
Temer, Rousseff’s then vice president, will serve as the new leader in the rest of Rousseff’s four-year term through 2018.
Corruption scandals and the worst economic crisis Brazil has had to face in decades left Rousseff open to much criticism, which left her with little amount of supporters in the face of her impeachment.
Recalling how she was tortured and imprisoned in the 1970s for belonging to a leftist guerrilla group, Rousseff urged senators to “vote against impeachment, vote for democracy”. The vote was 61 to 20. Previous presidents used similar accounting techniques, she noted, saying the push to remove her was a bloodless coup d’etat by elites fuming about the populist policies from her Workers’ Party over the past 13 years.
However, with Temer now officially president, it’s now officially true that Brazil has an officially Lebanese president and Lebanon officially does not. Right after the verdict, Rousseff addressed her supporters and said, “Right now, I will not say goodbye to you”.
In the background of the fight was a wide-ranging investigation into billions of dollars in kickbacks at state oil company Petrobras.
Michel Temer (center) is surrounded by senators as he arrives to take the presidential oath at the National Congress. Temer h.
Meanwhile, both Chile and Paraguay have accompanied Argentina in recognizing Brazil’s new government: for Paraguay, “the decision was made through Brazil’s democratic institutions” while Chile posits that it “trusts that Brazil will solve it’s problems [democratically]”. “I am certain I can say, ‘See you soon, ‘” she said in Brasilia.
Landers expects that the current government, headed by the more business-friendly Michel Temer, will move forward with a positive agenda to improve Brazil’s fiscal performance.
Advertisement
Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra defended the constitutionality of Rousseff’s impeachment and questioned the legitimacy of Maduro’s Government.
