Brazil's Coup Government Lashes Out at Left-Wing Neighbors

The government of Senate-imposed president Michel Temer lashed out at its neighbors who criticized the coup that saw the democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff ousted from power by the country's Congress.

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The office of new Foreign Minister Jose Serra released a statement saying it “emphatically rejects the statements of the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.”

These countries were the first to speak out against the parliamentary coup that saw Rousseff removed from power through an impeachment process. Only the government of right-wing Argentine President Mauricio Macri has backed the coup government in Brazil.

The office of the Foreign Ministry also criticized statements made by the Secretary-General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Ernesto Samper.

“Such judgments and interpretations of the Secretary General are incompatible with the functions he exercises and with the mandate given to him from the whole South American countries,” read the statement.

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Samper told teleSUR in an exclusive interview that Dilma Rousseff remained "the legitimate leader" of the Brazilian people and that she maintains "democratic legitimacy" by virtue of having been re-elected in 2014.

Rousseff was ousted on Thursday after the Senate voted to proceed with an impeachment trial, forcing the democratically elected president to step down for a period of 180 days.

In his statement, Serra said the impeachment process was proceeding “within the framework of absolute respect for democratic institutions and the Federal Constitution.”

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The impeachment trial of Rousseff is based on allegations she manipulated budget accounts. However, she has not been found guilty of any crime. The Brazilian Constitution says the president can only be impeached if she has been found guilty of a “high crime.”

Rousseff's supporters emphatically deny that her use of budget accounts, an act done by all of her predecessors, constitutes a high crime.