The Brazilian Senate impeached the long-troubled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday in a 61 to 20 vote.
Two-thirds of Brazil’s Senators, 54 out of 81 were needed to oust the embattled leader. Rousseff has been suspended since May and living in politico limbo up until the Senate impeachment vote. Brazil’s now-former president was found guilty of cooking the country’s books ahead of a tight reelection fight in October 2014.
As a result of Rousseff’s impeachment, Interim President Michel Temer, Rousseff’s former Vice-President, will lead the South American country until the end of her term on January 1, 2019. Temer’s own brief stint as Interim President has come under great scrutiny as multiple cabinet ministers resigned in scandal and disgrace.
The dysfunctional nature of Brazilian politics was on display in the lead up to, and during, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Several facilities and much needed infrastructure for the global sporting event were behind schedule in construction and Rio de Janeiro State received an almost $1 billion bailout from the federal government.
Brazilians protested against the cost of the Olympics and the corrupt nature of their country’s politics at the Games themselves which led to a Brazilian court ruling that Olympic attendees could hold politically charged signs. The free speech ruling ran counter to the International Olympic Committee Charter.
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