Rousseff gone

The Herald reports:

The dismissal of Brazil’s President has upset relations with leftist Latin American governments as Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia recalled their ambassadors to protest what they call a “coup”.

The Brazilian Senate voted 61-20 to convict the country’s first female President, Dilma Rousseff, of illegally using money from state banks to bankroll public spending.

The vote ended 13 years of progressive Workers Party rule and brought to power her conservative former Vice-President, Michel Temer.

Rousseff’s opponents hailed the removal of the former leftist guerrilla as paving the way for a change of fortunes for Brazil. But Temer, who has run Brazil since her suspension in May, inherits a bitterly divided nation with voters in no mood for the austerity measures needed to heal public finances.

It is unclear Temer will do any better. At least he won’t lie about the finances as Rousseff did.

Austerity is never popular. No-one likes having to live within their means. Of course people would like to spend money they don’t have. But in the real world spending more money than you have, has consequences.