THE impeachment of the Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, was a “coup” that will have profound consequences for the country, the Archbishop of Brazil, the Most Revd Francisco de Assis da Silva has said.

Ms Rousseff was ousted last week after a vote in the Senate.

Archbishop Assis da Silva, said: “The Senators condemned the President for a crime, but didn’t forbid her from running for another public position. This just makes clear that what happened was a coup. There was no real crime — just a matter of taking her out of power.”

He warned that the country faced deep setbacks. “We can already name three: the slowing of corruption investigations, setbacks to social rights, and increasing private control over Brazil’s natural resources and public goods.”

Christian Aid has also warned that the impeachment would lead to deepening inequalities in a country that is already one of the world’s most unequal.

Christian Aid’s Programme Officer in Brazil, Sarah Roure, said: “Parliament is discussing a constitutional change forbidding any increase in public investments in health and education over the next 20 years, and changes in labour rights.

“Such moves, along with the economic crisis, are deepening inequalities and undermining reductions in poverty.”