Brazil’s Interim President Calls for Unity After Rousseff’s Suspension

Brazil's interim President Michel Temer has announced that he will not obstruct the anti-corruption efforts in the country saying that the new government must restore people’s trust in the authorities.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Temer stressed the importance of Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato) carried out by the federal police since 2014 in an effort to uncover money laundering schemes and investigate corruption in the state-controlled Petrobras oil company.

"Together we can overcome this moment of great difficulty. It is urgent to calm the nation and unify the nation, create a government of national salvation," Temer said after Brazil’s Senate voted to suspend Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff has been facing a wave of public discontent for over a year amid the country’s struggling economy and a major corruption scandal in Petrobras.

The upper house of the Brazilian parliament voted 55-22 on Thursday to start impeachment proceedings against Rousseff after she was accused of concealing the country’s budget deficit ahead of the 2014 re-election. Rousseff called the impeachment "a coup."

The 68-year-old has been suspended from office for 180 days, pending the trial. Vice-President Michel Temer will assume presidency during that period.