Brazil's president removed from office 03:58
Story highlights
- President Michel Temer meets with Cabinet, promises to address economic woes
- A motion to bar former President Dilma Rousseff from public office for the next eight years fails
(CNN)Brazil's first female president is out of a job, but not barred from the ballot if she wants to run again.
The South American country's Senate voted 61-20 Wednesday to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, finding her guilty of breaking budgetary laws in an impeachment trial.
Michel Temer, Rousseff's former vice president who has been serving as interim president since her suspension in May, will assume the office of president and serve out the remainder of her term. Temer, a leader of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, was sworn in Wednesday afternoon.
Temer, 75, inherits a tattered economy, along with the keys to the presidential palace in Brasilia, the nation's capital.
He met with his Cabinet and promised to tackle unemployment.
"I am not saying it is an easy task, since we have almost 12 million people unemployed in this country," he said, according to a CNN translation. "It's a scary number, and there is nothing less dignified than unemployment."
Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
President – Dilma Rousseff is sworn in to her first term on January 1, 2011, becoming Brazil's first female president. She's seen here with running mate Michel Temer, who has now succeeded her as president.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Fighting for political life – Rousseff gestures during her testimony during her impeachment trial at the National Congress in Brasilia on August 29, 2016.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Deposed – After the Senate voted for her impeachment, Rousseff was officially removed from office Wednesday afternoon.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Freedom fighter – As young Marxist during Brazil's military dictatorship, Dilma Rousseff was charged by a military court with subversion and jailed in November 1970. Rousseff has said she was tortured with electrical shocks by her captors during her imprisonment.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Chief of staff – As former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff, Rousseff took on several high-profile roles. She announced the discovery of Brazil's pre-salt oil reserves, which would have made the country self-sustainable and could have produced up to 100 billion barrels of oil. But the reserve, discovered in 2009, still remains untapped.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Presidential hopeful – Rousseff campaigning for the presidency in 2010.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
President – Dilma Rousseff is sworn in to her first term on January 1, 2011, becoming Brazil's first female president. She's seen here with running mate Michel Temer, who has now succeeded her as president.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Fighting for political life – Rousseff gestures during her testimony during her impeachment trial at the National Congress in Brasilia on August 29, 2016.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Deposed – After the Senate voted for her impeachment, Rousseff was officially removed from office Wednesday afternoon.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Freedom fighter – As young Marxist during Brazil's military dictatorship, Dilma Rousseff was charged by a military court with subversion and jailed in November 1970. Rousseff has said she was tortured with electrical shocks by her captors during her imprisonment.
Hide Caption
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Chief of staff – As former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff, Rousseff took on several high-profile roles. She announced the discovery of Brazil's pre-salt oil reserves, which would have made the country self-sustainable and could have produced up to 100 billion barrels of oil. But the reserve, discovered in 2009, still remains untapped.
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Photos: The rise and fall of Dilma Rousseff
Presidential hopeful – Rousseff campaigning for the presidency in 2010.
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A general election is scheduled for 2018.
Wednesday's vote marks the culmination of a contentious impeachment process that has dragged on for months. It's a political crisis that ordinary Brazilians could do well without as the country, which just hosted the Summer Olympics in Rio, is trying to pull itself out of recession.
The Senate's decision is a major blow for Rousseff, a member of the Workers' Party, but it might not mark the end of her political career.
While the vote to oust her from office was decisive, a motion to bar her from holding any public office for the next eight years failed.
Rousseff, 68, a former Marxist guerrilla, said earlier this week that she had committed no crime and said she was proud she'd been "faithful to my commitment to the nation."
Rousseff impeachment trial in final phase 02:50
Sen. Lindbergh Farias of the Workers' Party made an impassioned plea against Rousseff's impeachment.
"This is a farce. This is a pretext. This is absolutely irrelevant. There are two types of senators, the one that know there was no crime of responsibility and vote against the impeachment and those that know there was no crime of responsibility and vote in favor," he said, shouting from the Senate floor.
Sen. Ronaldo Caiado of the Democrats argued that Rousseff should be ousted, arguing that lawmakers weren't the ones behind the impeachment process.
"It began because 90% of the population has said loudly, no more (Workers' Party)," he said.
In May, Rousseff called the impeachment proceedings an attempt at a power grab by her rivals. She said her government has long been the target of political sabotage.
Pervez Musharraf: He rose to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, but the former Pakistani President left office nine years later after an erosion in power coupled with economic problems and accusations that included corruption. Musharraf denied doing anything for personal gain.
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Silvio Berlusconi: Berlusconi weathered many crises, including sex scandals and corruption trials, during his three terms as Italy's Prime Minister. But the loss of his parliamentary majority -- and with it his ability to command the government -- was a blow from which Berlusconi could not recover in 2011.
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Thabo Mbeki: Mbeki rose to power in 1999 after Nelson Mandela -- South Africa's first black President -- retired. Mbeki had been Mandela's deputy. He resigned in 2008 after his party asked him to. The request came after a judge threw out the corruption, fraud and racketeering charges against Mbeki's political rival, Jacob Zuma, calling them invalid and accusing Mbeki's government of political interference in the case.
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Tony Blair: The former British Prime Minister was in office from 1997 to 2007. He resigned with his reputation clouded by the disastrous outcome of the Iraq war and the "Cash for Honors" scandal, allegations that his ruling Labour Party promised honors -- including seats in the upper House of Lords and knighthoods -- in return for loans to help a 2005 general election campaign. (No charges were brought in the case.) He handed the Prime Minister post to Gordon Brown, who himself would resign a few years later.
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Boris Yeltsin: The Russian President announced his resignation on New Year's Eve in 1999, putting then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in charge. During the announcement, Yeltsin apologized for failing to live up to early expectations as the architect of Russia's new democracy.
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Fernando Collor de Mello: Collor had served for just two years as Brazil's President when he resigned in 1992, weeks after impeachment proceedings against him had begun. Allegations of corruption had started just 100 days into his presidency. Collor was convicted by the Senate and barred from holding office for eight years. Now he is a senator himself.
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Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was ousted from the presidency on August 31, 2016, when the Senate voted 61-20 to find her guilty of breaking budgetary laws in an impeachment trial. Rousseff had been suspended earlier. Here are other world leaders who left office before the end of their term, either by choice or by constitutional action:
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Richard Nixon: In 1974, five years after he was first elected, Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign from office. He stepped down after the Watergate scandal, which stemmed from a break-in at the Democratic National Committee office during the 1972 presidential campaign.
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Margaret Thatcher: The United Kingdom's first female Prime Minister, who was called the "Iron Lady" for her personal and political toughness, served from 1975 to 1990. She was forced to resign in 1990 during an internal leadership struggle.
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Shinzo Abe: After serving just a year as Japan's Prime Minister, Abe resigned from his post in 2007 after low approval ratings and scandals amongst several government ministers. He was re-elected in 2012.
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Tony Abbott: One of Australia's most controversial leaders in recent history, Abbott was toppled in a leadership challenge just two years into his role. After his final speech, Abbott ended his term with a tweet: "Thank you for the privilege of being Prime Minister. My love for this country is as strong as ever."
Hide Caption
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Pervez Musharraf: He rose to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, but the former Pakistani President left office nine years later after an erosion in power coupled with economic problems and accusations that included corruption. Musharraf denied doing anything for personal gain.
Hide Caption
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Silvio Berlusconi: Berlusconi weathered many crises, including sex scandals and corruption trials, during his three terms as Italy's Prime Minister. But the loss of his parliamentary majority -- and with it his ability to command the government -- was a blow from which Berlusconi could not recover in 2011.
Hide Caption
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Thabo Mbeki: Mbeki rose to power in 1999 after Nelson Mandela -- South Africa's first black President -- retired. Mbeki had been Mandela's deputy. He resigned in 2008 after his party asked him to. The request came after a judge threw out the corruption, fraud and racketeering charges against Mbeki's political rival, Jacob Zuma, calling them invalid and accusing Mbeki's government of political interference in the case.
Hide Caption
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Tony Blair: The former British Prime Minister was in office from 1997 to 2007. He resigned with his reputation clouded by the disastrous outcome of the Iraq war and the "Cash for Honors" scandal, allegations that his ruling Labour Party promised honors -- including seats in the upper House of Lords and knighthoods -- in return for loans to help a 2005 general election campaign. (No charges were brought in the case.) He handed the Prime Minister post to Gordon Brown, who himself would resign a few years later.
Hide Caption
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Boris Yeltsin: The Russian President announced his resignation on New Year's Eve in 1999, putting then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in charge. During the announcement, Yeltsin apologized for failing to live up to early expectations as the architect of Russia's new democracy.
Hide Caption
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Fernando Collor de Mello: Collor had served for just two years as Brazil's President when he resigned in 1992, weeks after impeachment proceedings against him had begun. Allegations of corruption had started just 100 days into his presidency. Collor was convicted by the Senate and barred from holding office for eight years. Now he is a senator himself.
Hide Caption
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Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was ousted from the presidency on August 31, 2016, when the Senate voted 61-20 to find her guilty of breaking budgetary laws in an impeachment trial. Rousseff had been suspended earlier. Here are other world leaders who left office before the end of their term, either by choice or by constitutional action:
Hide Caption
1 of 11
Richard Nixon: In 1974, five years after he was first elected, Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign from office. He stepped down after the Watergate scandal, which stemmed from a break-in at the Democratic National Committee office during the 1972 presidential campaign.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
Margaret Thatcher: The United Kingdom's first female Prime Minister, who was called the "Iron Lady" for her personal and political toughness, served from 1975 to 1990. She was forced to resign in 1990 during an internal leadership struggle.
Hide Caption
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Shinzo Abe: After serving just a year as Japan's Prime Minister, Abe resigned from his post in 2007 after low approval ratings and scandals amongst several government ministers. He was re-elected in 2012.
Hide Caption
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Tony Abbott: One of Australia's most controversial leaders in recent history, Abbott was toppled in a leadership challenge just two years into his role. After his final speech, Abbott ended his term with a tweet: "Thank you for the privilege of being Prime Minister. My love for this country is as strong as ever."
Hide Caption
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Pervez Musharraf: He rose to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, but the former Pakistani President left office nine years later after an erosion in power coupled with economic problems and accusations that included corruption. Musharraf denied doing anything for personal gain.
Hide Caption
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"When Brazil or when a president is impeached for a crime that they have not committed, the name we have for this in democracy -- it's not an impeachment, it is a coup," she said after the Senate voted to launch the proceedings.
The heir-apparent to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rousseff was re-elected by a narrow margin in 2014, but a recession and a cross-party corruption scandal put an end to any political goodwill she might have earned, eventually leading to her ouster.
A statement from the spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said the UN Secretary-General had "taken note" of the impeachment process and Temer's swearing in.
"The Secretary-General extends his best wishes to President Temer as he begins his tenure," the statement said. "He trusts that under President Temer's leadership, Brazil and the United Nations will continue their traditional close partnership."
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