May 13, 2016 10:00am by David Farrar

Rousseff suspended

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff bowed out defiantly on Thursday (Friday NZ Time), suspended from office after the Senate voted to put her on trial for breaking budget laws in a historic decision brought on by a deep recession and a corruption scandal.

Rousseff, in office since 2011, will be replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, for the duration of a Senate trial that could take up to six months.

Rousseff, speaking shortly before she left Brasilia’s Planalto presidential palace, said was notified of her suspension on Thursday morning.

Her suspension came hours after the Senate voted 55-22 to put her on trial, a decision that ended more than 13 years of rule by the left-wing Workers Party.

That vote suggests she may well be convicted and permanently removed as they need a two thirds majority.

Her wonderfully enlightened socialist policies have seen GDP decrease for two years in a row by around 4%. That is not just a recession but on the verge of an outright economic depression.

The budget deficit as a percentage of GDP is around 11%. Interest rates are around 14% and inflation close to 10%.

Unemployment is at 8% and expected to hit 10% then. Real wage rates have fallen by 10% or so.

This is what happens when you can’t control spending.