Rousseff Removed, Michel Temer Sworn In As Brazilian President
MEP: Brazil’s Senate has voted to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office for manipulating the budget and confirmed Michel Temer as new president.
Temer, Brazil’s former vice president, has been sworn in as the country’s new president, a few hours after the removal of Rousseff from office.
The 75 year old Temer, raised his hand and swore to uphold the constitution, drawing loud applause from his conservative supporters at Wednesday’s ceremony in a packed Senate chamber.
After months of standing in for the suspended Ms. Rousseff during the impeachment process, Mr. Temer, a business-friendly centrist, is eager to assert himself abroad as the new face of Brazil, which has been battered by recession and political paralysis.
“Today we inaugurate a new era of two years and four months,” he told his ministers at a televised cabinet meeting.
Temer also stressed that Brazil needs to guarantee political stability if it wants to attract foreign investments to the country.
Rousseff was defiant after being ousted. “They think they’ve defeated us, but they’re wrong,” she said from her official residency, her voice cracking and eyes moist with emotion. “I know we will all fight.”
Despite never losing an election, Rousseff – who first won power in 2010 – had seen her support among the public and in congress diminish as a result of a sharp economic decline, government paralysis and a massive bribery scandal that has implicated almost all the major parties.
