Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was suspended Thursday to face an impeachment trial, ceding power to her vice president-turned-enemy Michel Temer, who quickly pivoted toward a more business-friendly government, naming a cabinet chosen to calm the markets after a paralyzing impeachment battle and steer the country out of its worst recession in decades.
/ AFP PHOTO
“We must significantly improve the business environment for the private sector… and rebalance the government’s budget,” the center-right leader said after installing his new business-friendly cabinet in a ceremony at the presidential palace, ending 13 years of leftist rule.
Extending an olive branch to the left after a divisive battle over Rousseff’s impeachment, he called for “dialogue” on the multiple crises facing Latin America’s largest country, which is deep in recession and reeling from a far-reaching corruption scandal.
“It is urgent to restore peace and unite Brazil,” said Temer, 75, who wore a dark suit and gray tie and at one point lost his voice.
“Dialogue is the first step to facing the challenges we must overcome to move forward and guarantee a return to growth.”
But on his first day in power Temer has already faced sharp criticism from opponents for installing an all-white, all-male cabinet, a dramatic change from the sidelined administration of Brazil’s first female president and a first since the return to democracy after the country’s military dictatorship (1964-1985).
Opponents also attacked him for including ministers implicated in corruption.
Temer vowed not to interfere with “Operation Car Wash,” the corruption investigation that has blown the lid off a multi-billion-dollar graft scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras.
“Operation Car Wash has become a benchmark, and must be protected from any attempt to weaken it,” he said.
bur-jhb/sg
© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse