Brazil: Coup Leader Confirmed as Interim President by Senate

Michel Temer took over as Brazil's acting president on Thursday and is expected deliver an official statement during his inaugural ceremony later this afternoon, Brazil's state agency reported.

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Mr. Temer will become Brazil's seventh president since the end of the military dictatorship in the 1980s, with a mandate of up to six months while his predecessor President Dilma Rousseff undergoes an impeachment trial.

During his first speech as acting president later today, Temer is expected to outline the main policies of his administration, which likely include cuts to government spending and social spending.

Temer is also expected to announce his Cabinet ministers, which are rumored to be all-white and all-male, according to a report by the Globe and Mail, in a country where more than half of the population are Black or mixed race.

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Meanwhile, the country's Supreme Court is looking into whether Temer himself should be impeached for breaking the same fiscal rules that brought down Rousseff.

According to a recent poll carried out by Datafolha leading up to yesterday’s Senate vote, Temer’s impeachment was almost on par in terms of support as Rousseff’s. The survey showed that 58 percent of Brazilians wanted Temer to be removed from his post, compared to 61 percent supporting Rousseff’s impeachment.