Support for Rousseff remains high amid call for fresh elections
In a bid to restore democracy in Brazil, the support for Brazil's ousted President Rousseff remains high as Brazilians called for fresh elections after the impeachment of the former president Dilma Rousseff by the Brazilian Senate.
Thousands of Brazilians hit the streets on September 5 to protest against Michel Temer's government. On the seventh day of protests, a record number of 50,000 came out in Sao Paulo. After Temer's swearing in on Wednesday, hundreds of youths took to the streets of Sao Paulo, smashing shop windows and hurling rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas. Temer played down the scale of the protests when he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit. He said: "They are small groups, not popular movements of any size. In a population of 204 million Brazilians, they are not representative."
Michel Temer was sworn in as president after replacing Dilma Rousseff who was impeached. The Brazilian Senate voted 61-20 to convict the country's first female president, Dilma Rousseff, of allegedly illegally using money from state banks to bankroll public spending. The vote ended 13 years of progressive Workers Party rule. Temer will remain president until 2018 unless a fresh election will hold in the country.
Rousseff has vowed to form a strong opposition against Temer, who was her vice president. She is appealing her impeachment to Brazil's Supreme Court, but legal experts say it is unlikely to succeed as several appeals during the months-long impeachment process were rejected. After her impeachment, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia recalled their ambassadors to protest what they called a "coup."
"There is no single leader who can unify Brazil at this moment, certainly not Temer," said Sergio Praca, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a leading Brazilian university, as reported by Reuters.
"For a portion of the population, whether fair or not, he is linked to the idea that there has been a 'coup.' His challenge is not just pushing through reforms. His challenge is his political survival."
Thousands of Brazilians hit the streets on September 5 to protest against Michel Temer's government. On the seventh day of protests, a record number of 50,000 came out in Sao Paulo. After Temer's swearing in on Wednesday, hundreds of youths took to the streets of Sao Paulo, smashing shop windows and hurling rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas. Temer played down the scale of the protests when he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit. He said: "They are small groups, not popular movements of any size. In a population of 204 million Brazilians, they are not representative."
Michel Temer was sworn in as president after replacing Dilma Rousseff who was impeached. The Brazilian Senate voted 61-20 to convict the country's first female president, Dilma Rousseff, of allegedly illegally using money from state banks to bankroll public spending. The vote ended 13 years of progressive Workers Party rule. Temer will remain president until 2018 unless a fresh election will hold in the country.
Rousseff has vowed to form a strong opposition against Temer, who was her vice president. She is appealing her impeachment to Brazil's Supreme Court, but legal experts say it is unlikely to succeed as several appeals during the months-long impeachment process were rejected. After her impeachment, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia recalled their ambassadors to protest what they called a "coup."
"There is no single leader who can unify Brazil at this moment, certainly not Temer," said Sergio Praca, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a leading Brazilian university, as reported by Reuters.
"For a portion of the population, whether fair or not, he is linked to the idea that there has been a 'coup.' His challenge is not just pushing through reforms. His challenge is his political survival."
Last Update: September 06, 2016 22:46