AMN /
Former Vice president, Michel Temer has taken office as president of Brazil soon after the Senate overwhelmingly voted to remove his predecessor and former coalition partner, Dilma Rousseff, on charges of breaking budget laws on Wednesday.
“From today on, the expectations are much higher for the government,” Temer said.
Michel Temer assumed control of Brazil just hours after the upper house of Congress voted 61-20 to impeach Dilma Rousseff. The 75-year-old Temer will lead the country until the next presidential election, in 2018.
Temer’s rise halts 13 years of Workers’ Party rule and signals an abrupt turn to the right for Brazil’s government. Unpopular with Brazil’s vulnerable populations, Temer appears likely to push a neoliberal agenda of privatizations and cut social programs.
Brazilian Senate Removes President Dilma Rousseff From Office
Upon assuming interim control in May, Temer named a cabinet of all white men. Less than 50 percent of Brazil’s population is white, and exclusion of indigenous peoples is a recurring issue. Three ministers soon resigned facing corruption allegations, which also follow Temer and threaten his hold on power.