Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the country's presidency Wednesday in a Senate impeachment vote ending 13 years of leftist rule in Latin America's biggest economy.
Rousseff, 68, was convicted by 61 of the 81 senators of illegally manipulating the national budget. The vote, passing the needed two-thirds majority, meant she was immediately removed from office.
Cheers -- and cries of disappointment -- erupted in the blue-carpeted, circular Senate chamber as the verdict flashed up on the electronic voting screen.
Pro-impeachment senators burst into a rendering of the national anthem, some waving Brazilian flags, while allies of Rousseff stood stony faced.
"I will not associate my name to this infamy," read a sign held up by one senator.
Brazil's first female president, holed up in the presidential palace on the outskirts of the capital Brasilia with close aides, was expected to make a statement soon after the vote.
Her vice president turned bitter political enemy, Michel Temer, will be sworn as her replacement at about 3:00 pm (1800 GMT).
The veteran center-right politician, whom Rousseff accuses of using the impeachment process to mount a coup, was then to leave for a G20 summit in China.
About 50 leftist demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace to show their support.
"We are protesting against the coup and fighting for democracy," said 61-year-old farmer Orlando Ribeiro.
In the center of the capital, extra security and the closing of avenues near the Senate caused massive traffic jams. Police said they were preparing for large protests later in the day.
- Anti-Rousseff anger -
Rousseff, from the leftist Workers' Party, is accused of taking illegal state loans to patch budget holes in 2014, masking the country's problems as it slid into its deepest recession in decades.
She told the Senate during a marathon 14-hour session on Monday that she is innocent and that abuse of the impeachment process put Brazil's democracy, restored in 1985 after a two-decades-long military dictatorship, at risk.
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... Do not accept a coup."
However, huge anti-Rousseff street demonstrations over the last year have reflected nationwide anger at her management of a country suffering double-digit unemployment and inflation.
The once mighty Workers' Party, meanwhile, has struggled to stage more than small rallies.
Temer, who was in an uncomfortable partnership with Rousseff before finally splitting, will be president until the next scheduled elections in late 2018.
The 75-year-old, known more as a backroom wheeler-dealer than street politician, took over in an interim role after Rousseff's initial suspension in May.
He immediately named a new government with an agenda of shifting Brazil to the right after more than a decade of leftist rule that saw 29 million people lifted from poverty, but became bogged down in corruption and the economic slump.
Temer has earned plaudits from investors, but it remains uncertain whether he will have voters' support to push through the painful austerity reforms he promises.
- Emotions spill over -
Lawyers presenting closing arguments on Tuesday could not hold back their emotions as the clock wound down on a crisis that has paralyzed Brazilian politics for months, helping deepen national gloom over recession and runaway corruption.
A lead lawyer for the case against Rousseff, Senator Janaina Paschoal, wept as she asked forgiveness for causing the president "suffering," but insisted it was the right thing to do.
"The Brazilian people must be aware that nothing illegal and illegitimate is being done here," she said.
Rousseff's counsel, veteran lawyer Jose Eduardo Cardozo, retorted that the charges were trumped up to punish the president's support for a huge corruption investigation that has snared many of Brazil's elite.
"This is a farce," he said in a speech during which his voice alternated between shouts and near whispers.
"We should ask her forgiveness if she is convicted," he added. "History will treat her fairly. History will absolve Dilma Rousseff if you convict her."
AFP
Wed Aug 31 2016
Rousseff (pic), 68, was convicted by 61 of the 81 senators of illegally manipulating the national budget. - Filepic / AFP
AWANI Ringkas: Pendatang asing tanpa izin | Kekecohan di Wisma Transit
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Tumpuan Ahad – 06 Oktober 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
Polis siasat dakwaan buli di sekolah berasrama penuh di KL
Polis sedang menjalankan siasatan berhubung dakwaan berlaku kejadian buli membabitkan anak seorang penyanyi dan beberapa individu lain di sebuah sekolah berasrama penuh di ibu negara.
Peruntukan tebatan banjir Sungai Damansara diluluskan, kurangkan risiko di Sungai Buloh
Peruntukan berjumlah RM481 juta bagi Projek Tebatan Banjir Sungai Damansara telah diluluskan sebagai usaha mengurangkan risiko banjir di kawasan Parlimen Sungai Buloh.
AWANI 7:45 [05/10/2024] – Tunggu perkenan Majlis Raja-Raja | Inflasi dan gaji jadi tumpuan | Kes terpencil | Zionis terus angkuh
- Tiga negeri fatwakan GISB sesat, siasatan libat 10 peruntukan
- Belanjawan 2025 tumpu isu inflasi dan naik gaji
- Kekecohan libat warga Palestin mungkin sebab stress, ATM tangani dengan profesional
- Gaza hancur lebur, Beirut hampiri kemusnahan
- Belanjawan 2025 tumpu isu inflasi dan naik gaji
- Kekecohan libat warga Palestin mungkin sebab stress, ATM tangani dengan profesional
- Gaza hancur lebur, Beirut hampiri kemusnahan
Pekebun boleh kemuka tuntutan akibat serangan haiwan liar
Pekebun yang mengalami kerugian hasil tanaman akibat ancaman haiwan liar boleh mengemukakan tuntutan pampasan terhadap kerosakan yang berlaku.
AWANI Ringkas: GISB Holdings | Kes tembakan di Song | PR1MA
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Lelaki rugi RM224,000 terperdaya skim pelaburan tidak wujud
Seorang lelaki warga tempatan berputih mata apabila kerugian RM224,000 setelah terperdaya dengan skim pelaburan tidak wujud yang diiklankan menerusi aplikasi WhastApp.
#AWANIRingkas 5 Oktober 2024 | 9 PM
Berikut merupakan rangkuman berita setakat 9 malam, 5 Oktober 2024
1️⃣ Siasatan membabitkan 10 peruntukan undang-undang
2️⃣ KDN sahkan seorang anggota polis terlibat
3️⃣ Projek sakit dijangka siap menjelang hujung 2024
#awaniringkas
1️⃣ Siasatan membabitkan 10 peruntukan undang-undang
2️⃣ KDN sahkan seorang anggota polis terlibat
3️⃣ Projek sakit dijangka siap menjelang hujung 2024
#awaniringkas
Serangan gajah: Perhilitan terus pantau Kampung Basung
Perhilitan Terengganu akan meneruskan pemantauan di Kampung Basung di Kuala Berang bagi mengesan gajah liar yang menyebabkan kematian warga emas hari ini.
Hampir 200 aktivis alam sekitar dibunuh pada 2023
Hampir 200 pejuang alam sekitar dibunuh di seluruh dunia pada 2023, lapor Agensi Berita Jerman (dpa), memetik pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) Global Witness pada Selasa.
Bluesky kini mempunyai lebih 9 juta pengguna
Penambahan drastik kebelakangan ini berlaku apabila platform X dihalang di Brazil, menyebabkan ramai beralih ke Bluesky.
Bekas ketua pasukan Brazil, Menezes ambil alih Fluminense
Bekas pengurus pasukan kebangsaan Brazil, Mano Menezes telah bersetuju dengan kontrak selama enam bulan sebagai ketua jurulatih Fluminense.
Copa America: Paraguay jadi mangsa aksi garang Brazil
Brazil bangkit daripada persembahan hambar sebelum membelasah Paraguay 4-1 dalam pertembungan Kumpulan D, Copa America.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Brazil dipilih sebagai tuan rumah Piala Dunia Wanita FIFA 2027
Brazil akan menjadi tuan rumah Piala Dunia Wanita Persekutuan Bola Sepak Antarabangsa (FIFA) 2027 selepas undian di Kongres FIFA ke-74 pada Jumaat.
Angka kematian akibat bencana alam di Brazil meningkat kepada 151
Dalam tempoh 24 jam lepas, bilangan mangsa yang meninggal dunia telah meningkat dari 149 ke 151 orang.
Angka kematian akibat bencana alam terburuk di Brazil meningkat kepada 143
Institut Meteorologi Kebangsaan meramalkan hujan lebat akan berterusan sehingga Isnin di negeri paling selatan Brazil itu.
Penang FC yakin kemampuan Neto Oliveira
Akmal Rizal berkata pemain kelahiran Brazil berusia 26 tahun itu berkemungkinan besar akan disenaraikan dalam kesebelasan utama.
Vinicius Junior menangis jawab isu penderaan perkauman
Penyerang sensasi Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, menangis dalam sidang media selepas ditanya mengenai isu perkauman yang melibatkan dirinya.