Rousseff abandons Brazilian capital after ouster

Brazil's deposed president, Dilma Rousseff, left the capital city of Brasilia to return to her adopted hometown of Porto Alegre.

A few dozen supporters were waiting outside as Rousseff abandoned Alvorada palace, the presidential residence, on Tuesday which she continued to occupy during the Senate trial that ended on August 31 with her removal from office, EFE news reported.

The now-former head of state greeted some of the well-wishers, thanking them for their "solidarity" before heading to the airport.

Waving the red banners of Rousseff's Workers Party, the group chanted "No to the coup" and "Temer out" referring to new President Michel Temer.

Temer was sworn-in last week after senators voted 61-20 to oust the country's first woman president less than halfway through her second term.

Rousseff, who denied having committed the budgetary manoeuvers that formed the basis of the charges against her, called the impeachment process a "parliamentary coup".

Rousseff, 68, was born in Belo Horizonte but lived for nearly four decades in Porto Alegre, where she settled after spending three years in prison for her role in resistance to the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

She moved to Brasilia in late 2002 to serve as energy minister in the Workers Party government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who two years later named Rousseff as Cabinet chief.

Lula anointed Rousseff as his successor and she won the 2010 presidential contest, going on to secure a second term in 2014.

Rousseff, who says she is returning to Porto Alegre so she can be close to her daughter and grandchildren, has ruled out any involvement in electoral politics in the near future.

--IANS

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