text: BRASÍLIA — The Senate on Wednesday impeached Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president, and removed her from office for the rest of her term, the capstone of a power struggle that has consumed the nation for months and toppled one of the hemisphere’s most powerful political parties. 
   
   The Senate voted 61 to 20 to convict Ms. Rousseff on charges of manipulating the federal budget in an effort to conceal the nation’s mounting economic problems. 
   
   But the final removal of Ms. Rousseff, who was suspended in May to face trial, was much more than a judgment of guilt on any charge. It was a verdict on her leadership and the slipping fortunes of Latin America’s largest country. 
   
   The impeachment puts a definitive end to 13 years of governing by the leftist Workers’ Party, an era during which Brazil’s economy boomed, lifting millions into the middle class and raising the country’s profile on the global stage. ||||| Brazil's Senate Votes To Impeach Dilma Rousseff 
   
   Enlarge this image toggle caption Ricardo Botelho/Brazil Photo Press/CON/LatinContent/Getty Images Ricardo Botelho/Brazil Photo Press/CON/LatinContent/Getty Images 
   
   On Wednesday morning, Brazil's Senate voted to impeach suspended President Dilma Rousseff. Interim President Michel Temer was then sworn in as president. 
   
   Sixty-one senators voted in favor of removing Rousseff from the presidency; 20 voted against her impeachment. 
   
   Rousseff is accused of mishandling Brazil's budget and misrepresenting the state of the economy. Some of her accusers, as Rousseff noted in her testimony, are themselves accused or convicted of serious corruption charges. 
   
   She testified for 14 hours straight on Monday, NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro reports. 
   
   Rousseff defended her innocence and characterized the impeachment as a coup. 
   
   Some 66 senators took the floor during the proceedings to question her or deliver speeches, in a marathon session that lasted through the night. 
   
   Emotions ran high, Lulu reports: "There was this surreal moment, where one of the prosecutors, Jenaina Paschoal, who was advocating Rousseff's impeachment — she burst into tears in her closing argument. She asked for Rousseff's forgiveness because she did not mean to cause Rousseff pain," Lulu says. 
   
   "She was not alone in her tears," Lulu says. "The defense lawyer Jose Eduardo Cardozo also wept openly after giving his defense." 
   
   Rousseff's impeachment was expected to bar her from office of any kind for the next eight years. But the Brazilian senate actually held a second vote on that issue, and — 42 in favor, 36 against — failed to reach the necessary votes to pass the ban. That means Rousseff has the right to run for office again. 
   
   Rousseff could, and likely will, appeal to Brazil's highest court, The Associated Press reports. "But previous appeals during the process have failed," the wire service says. 
   
   The suspended president has previously said that, if and when she's removed from office, she'll retire to her home in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, Lulu reports.
target: – Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's first female president, was removed from office Wednesday, the New York Times reports. The Brazilian senate voted 61-20 to impeach Rousseff, reports the BBC, covering the two-thirds majority needed. Rousseff, who was suspended in May, was accused of illegally moving government funds between different budgets to hide Brazil's growing economic woes and bolster popular social programs. Rousseff denies any wrongdoing and defended herself in front of the senate Monday, calling her ouster a coup. "From the day after I was elected, several measures were taken to destabilize my government," she said. "And you have been systematically making accusations against me." Acting president Michel Temer is scheduled to be sworn in Wednesday to finish Rousseff's term, which lasts through 2018. His center-right PMDB party ends 13 years in power by the left-wing Workers' Party. However, Temer's approval rating is as bad as Rousseff's, and the PMDB party is already beset by scandals. In fact, Temer's anticorruption minister recently resigned. Rousseff is likely to appeal the impeachment vote in court, though NPR reports she's unlikely to be successful. The senate voted 42-36 to allow her to run for office again, but Rousseff has previously said she'll retire to her hometown if successfully impeached.