Brasilia, August 30 (RHC)-- Tens of thousands of people and representatives of social organizations protested in Brazil's main cities on Monday, the same day suspended President Dilma Rousseff made her defense for staying in office to the Brazilian Senate.

In the capital Brasilia, people gathered in front of the parliament, where senators will vote late Tuesday on whether or not to remove Rousseff form office.  A two-thirds majority, or 54 of 81 senators, is required to seal the impeachment and install the "interim" government of Michel Temer permanently.

When the sun went down Monday night, a brutal crackdown was reported in Sao Paulo, with police firing tear gas at protesters, while the suspended president was defending her case to the senators in a moving speech. 

The impeachment bid has been widely condemned as a parliamentary coup due to the lack of legitimate accusations against Rousseff that would justify her removal according to the Brazilian Constitution.

Rivals have long attempted to paint their campaign as an effort to root out government fraud, but rampant corruption in the ranks of the opposition and leaked wiretap recordings shedding light on the motivations behind the impeachment bid have laid bare that the power grab is more about protecting the elite from investigations into their own corruption.