Brazil’s Temer survives corruption vote

BRASILIA: President Michel Temer may have saved his job by convincing a small majority in Brazil’s Congress not to suspend him and put him on trial for corruption, but his scandal-rocked government appears more weakened than ever.

The vote late Wednesday marked the second time in three months that Temer survived a legislative vote that could have suspended him for a trial, but analysts said he has spent so much political capital it raises the specter of a lame duck administration unable to enact a proposed overhaul of pensions and work rules aimed at reviving Brazil’s economy.

“Major structural reforms, such as social security reform, tax reform, further movement on labor, I think those are dead in the water in large part because Temer does not have a whole lot of political capital and legislators have very little incentive after this vote to cooperate,” said Matthew M. Taylor, a professor at the School of International Service at American University and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The 77-year-old Temer spent recent weeks shoring up support, doling out local projects, plum positions and favorable decrees in a successful bid to avoid being put on trial for charges of obstruction of justice and leading a criminal organization. He needed backing from at least a third of the 513 deputies in the Chamber of Deputies — or 171 votes. He easily passed that mark with 251 votes for him, 233 against and the rest abstentions or absences.