Acting president Michel Temer has pledged to jump-start Brazil’s economy after the country’s senate voted to suspend Dilma Rousseff.
Mr Temer has also vowed to push ahead with a corruption investigation that has ensnared high-profile members of his own party and even implicated himself.
He said he wanted his appearance to be “sober” in recognition of his “institutional respect” for Ms Rousseff and of the deep divisions caused by the impeachment campaign against her.
Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for the 22 members of his new cabinet, Mr Temer said: “This is not a moment for celebrations, but one of profound reflection.
“It’s urgent to pacify the nation and unify the country. It’s urgent for us to form a government of national salvation to pull this country out of the serious crisis in which we find ourselves.”
Brazil’s senate voted 55-22 to impeach Ms Rousseff over allegations her government broke fiscal laws in managing the federal budget.
Ms Rousseff insisted the accusations are baseless, since such financial manoeuvres have been common practice by other Brazilian presidents without repercussions.
She was suspended for 180 days pending a trial in the senate. If she is found by two-thirds of the senate to have committed crimes, Mr Temer will serve out the remainder of her term, which ends in December 2018.
Ms Rousseff maintains the action against her amounts to a “coup” cooked up by power-hungry opponents determined to reverse government social programmes that she claims lifted an estimated 35 million Brazilians out of poverty during her left-leaning Workers’ Party’s 13 years in power.
She has said the “chief conspirator” against her was Mr Temer, the long-time leader of the centrist Democratic Movement Party.
Speaking just before leaving the presidential palace, Ms Rousseff said she would not give up.
She said: “I am the victim of a great injustice. I fought my whole life and I’m going to keep fighting.”
Analysts say Ms Rousseff’s lack of skill as a politician and Brazil’s tanking economy played major roles in her undoing. The economy is expected to contract nearly 4% this year after an equally dismal 2015, and inflation and unemployment are hovering around 10%, underscoring a sharp decline after the South American giant enjoyed stellar growth for more than a decade.
Making matters worse for Ms Rousseff, the big graft scheme at Brazil’s state-run Petrobras oil company revealed deep-seated corruption that cuts across the political spectrum, ensnaring top
officials from the Workers’ Party and the opposition alike as well as top businessmen.
Mr Temer has been implicated by witnesses in the scandal, but has not been charged. The impeachment drive’s main driver, former house speaker Eduardo Cunha, has been charged in the scandal and was suspended last week as speaker over allegations of corruption and interfering with justice.
Ms Rousseff’s supporters have voiced concerns that Mr Temer might try to undermine the Petrobras probe but the acting leader has promised that it would continue.
He said the investigation “deserves to be followed closely” and pledged protection against any interference that could weaken it.
Several of Mr Temer’s cabinet appointees have also been ensnared by corruption charges and other allegations.
His choices also raised eyebrows because they are all middle-age or elderly white men. Six women, including one black, were included in the 39 members of Ms Rousseff’s Cabinet when she began her second term last year.
Answering claims by Ms Rousseff that he intends to dismantle the social programmes that now benefit around one-fourth of the Brazilian population, Mr Temer insisted the programmes would be maintained and “perfected” under his leadership.
Mr Temer also said his first order of business will be putting the economy back on track and grappling with the government budget deficit.
He said: “Our biggest challenge is to staunch the process of freefall of our economy.
“First of all, we need to balance our public spending. The sooner we are able to balance our books, the sooner we’ll be able to restart growth.”
Mr Temer’s inaugural address as interim president was marred by several bizarre moments, including a stampede by photographers who sprinted out of the packed event to take pictures of police using pepper spray on a small group of pro-Rousseff demonstrators.
The acting president also lost his voice halfway through the speech. His face turned red and his voice was constricted to a croak until an aide gave him some lozenges.
The ceremony contrasted with the motto of Mr Temer’s government – “order and progress”, which is the aspirational phrase emblazoned on the Brazilian flag.
“The expression on our flag couldn’t be more current if it was written today,” Mr Temer said.
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