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Rousseff impeachment a "coup", says Uruguayan minister

Xinhua, September 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Uruguay on Thursday became the latest Latin American country to condemn the impeachment of Brazil's ex-President Dilma Rousseff.

Uruguay's Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi called the trial a "coup d'etat," and as a result her successor Michel Temer "has no legitimacy whatsoever," he said.

Brazil's Senate on Wednesday impeached Rousseff for alleged fiscal wrongdoing, despite the fact that her country's judiciary had cleared her of any crime, said Bonomi.

"Dilma went to the judiciary and the judiciary declared there was no crime," said Bonomi.

"I think there is no legitimate trigger for the legal use of the constitutional recourse (of impeachment). So, if it doesn't exist, then it has the characteristics of a coup d'etat," Bonomi said in an interview with local Carve Radio.

Bonomi voiced suspicions shared by many that Rousseff was ousted to thwart an ongoing investigation into graft among Brazil's political class.

"The real motive is that from within the executive branch Dilma was asked to put a stop to the judicial investigation into corruption in Brazil, and Dilma didn't put a stop to anything, so they took her out," said Bonomi.

"So, the man who took her place has no legitimacy whatsoever either. I think it's very serious, very serious, and deeply damaging to Brazilian democracy," said the minister.

Uruguay's Foreign Affairs Ministry has issued no statement on the trial's outcome, but Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela have condemned the impeachment. Bolivia and Venezuela said they would recall their ambassadors to Brazil for consultation. Endit