Brazil's acting leader Michel Temer has called for a "government of national salvation" as Dilma Rousseff vowed to use all legal means to fight a Senate impeachment vote that suspended her from office.
In his first presidential address to the nation, Temer called for unity, promising to improve the economy and support a big corruption probe at state oil company Petrobras.
Rousseff's former vice president and leader of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB) said the country's political parties and people urgently needed to unite to "pacify the nation and unify Brazil."
"Dialogue is the first step to bring us back to economic growth, based on strengthening the private sector and reducing the state," Temer said.
Senators voted overwhelmingly in favour of suspending Rousseff from her duties for 180 days and subjecting her to an impeachment trial on charges of budget irregularities.
During the next six months, the Senate will investigate the allegations against her and then conduct another vote, which would require a two-thirds majority to permanently remove her from office.
That threshold was already exceeded in the 55-22 vote on Thursday, even though only a simple majority was required to suspend her.
Rousseff has cleared her office but will remain in her official residence during the impeachment proceedings.
In an address to the nation, she maintained her innocence and slammed the impeachment as a "coup."
"I fought my entire life for democracy," said Rousseff, a former political prisoner who was tortured under the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
"I never believed that I would have to fight again against a coup in my country."
The vote was the culmination of months of political upheaval, as Temer and other erstwhile Rousseff allies abandoned her leftist government, re-elected in 2014, and joined a chorus calling for her ouster.
One of the world's fastest-growing economies until a few years ago, Brazil is now in the midst of one its worst recessions in decades.
Mass street protests broke out in the country last year, reflecting anger at the economy and corruption investigations that have ensnared dozens of political figures.
Temer, who is perceived as more market-friendly, has called for investor calm.
He says he will push for more privatisations, reduce the number of public employees and get the budget deficit under control.
Upon taking office Thursday he named a new cast of 24 ministers, including Brazil's third minister for sport in a year.
The appointment of Leonardo Picciani, 36, an influential PMDB member, comes just 80 days before the start of the Olympic Games.
Rousseff ignited the Olympic flame in Brazil's capital last week, but she will now watch from the sidelines as Temer opens the Games in Rio de Janeiro August 5.
In a statement on Thursday, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said he did not believe Rousseff's trial would harm the Games.
"The Brazilian people will deliver a memorable Olympic Games full of passion for sport for which they are world renowned," he said.
"It will be a moment for Brazil to show to the world its determination to overcome the present crisis," he said.
Temer, a 75-year-old career politician who many call the "butler" for his subdued manner, struck a conciliatory note.
"Now is not a moment for celebrations, but rather for profound reflection," he said, adding that reducing unemployment was a top government priority.
