Rousseff shuns Olympics opening ceremony

BRAZIL’S suspended President Dilma Rousseff has joined her predeces­sor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in confirming she will not attend the Open­ing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Rousseff, who was removed from office in May pending an im­peachment trial in the Senate, had been invited to attend the event in the Maracanã Stadium on August 5 by the interim Government led by her former vice-president Michel Temer.

Temer is now expected to officially declare the Games open, with the final result into the im­peachment trial delayed until August 26 in order to avoid any potential fallout overshadowing the Olympics.

Concerns had been expressed about the dip­lomatic risks of having both Temer and Rous­seff present alongside so many other international dignitaries.

“She is not going,” a Rousseff aide told Re­uters today.
This follows the of­ficial insisting yesterday that she would not play “second fiddle” to Temer.