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El Salvador refuses to recognize Brazil’s new government

Sunday, 15 May 2016 6:12 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 15 May 2016 6:21 PM ]

El Salvadorean President Salvador Sanchez Ceren (photo by AFP)

El Salvador has refused to recognize the new Brazilian government that has come to power following President Dilma Rousseff’s suspension to face an impeachment trial.

President Salvador Sanchez Ceren said in a statement on Saturday that Rousseff’s suspension had “the appearance of a coup d'etat.”

“We have analyzed the situation and taken the decision to not recognize the interim government of Brazil because there was political manipulation,” said the leftist leader.

He said he was recalling El Salvador’s ambassador to Brazil, who had already received orders not to attend any official ceremony involving interim President Michel Temer, who was Rousseff’s vice-president before breaking ranks with her.

Some other Latin American countries have also denounced the suspension.

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on Thursday, also called Roussef’s suspension a US-led coup, adding Washington aims to sabotage genuine democracy in the region.

Cuba also questioned the legality of the suspension, calling it a “judicial-parliamentary coup d’etat.”

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said Rousseff’s suspension could have a negative impact on the stability of the region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang has said Beijing is closely monitoring the situation in Brazil. The official expressed hope that “all sides in Brazil can appropriately handle the present situation and maintain the country’s political stability and socio-economic development.”

Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (L) walks before a press conference with international media at the presidential residence Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, May 13, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Rousseff’s suspension will last 180 days, during which a special committee is to investigate whether she broke the country’s budget laws ahead of her re-election in 2014.

If Rousseff is convicted, Temer will serve as president until the end of 2018, when a new presidential election will be held.

Rousseff maintains that the move against her is part of a plot by the country’s extreme right. She has also described the impeachment attempt a coup.

“They want to come to power by an easy route, and not through popular election for which we have fought,” she said.

Rousseff is also under fire over a graft scandal at state oil company Petrobras, where she was the manager before taking office as president in 2010.

She has denied any wrongdoing.

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