Graft claims swirl as Temer’s support dips
BRAZILIAN federal police handed a top court an investigation alleging that President Michel Temer accepted bribes in exchange for political favours from the largest meat-packing company in the country as accusations of corruption continue against the president and his allies.
The police presented evidence claiming that Temer received money illegally from JBS. A video was released earlier by investigators showing Temer aide Rodrigo Rocha Loure carrying a suitcase filled with about $150 000 (R1.95 million) in cash, allegedly sent from JBS to the president.
“Before the silence of the highest authority of the nation and his former special aide, the evidence obtained from the information in this probe remains unchanged and indicates, with vigour, the crime of passive corruption,” the report said.
Temer was acquitted weeks ago of financial irregularities in the 2014 election campaign in which he ran as vice-president. The ruling came just a day after he denied other corruption allegations, as an article in Veja magazine alleged that the country’s secret security service, known as Abin, spied on the judge in charge of the corruption probes, known as Operation Car Wash.
The submission of the police probe came the day before it was revealed that only 2% of respondents consider the administration in a positive light.
Temer, who was imposed by Brazil’s Senate after a parliamentary coup against democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff, has pushed unpopular neoliberal measures and has been embroiled in graft probes.
The poll by DataPoder360, released on Wednesday, found that 75% of respondents – a 10 percentge point increase compared with a survey conducted in May – rejected Temer, while 79% preferred his resignation or an annulment of his presidency.
If Temer is removed, or resigns, something that he has refused to do, 87% of Brazilians prefer democratic elections.
If Temer’s presidency is annulled, the Supreme Court would confer the right of congressmen and senators to approve indirect elections within 30 days. The term of the presidential substitute would end on January 1, 2019.
Temer has been embroiled in the Operation Car Wash investigations and faces charges of obstruction of justice after a wire tap of a conversation with JBS chairman Josley Batista appeared to show he endorsed bribery. Temer was heard saying after being informed that hush money was being paid to the former head of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha: “Look, you’ve got to keep that up.”
JBS executives allege they paid Temer $4.6m in bribes since 2010 to help win government contracts, resolve tax disputes and receive free cheap loans from the state bank. They said they paid about $154m to nearly 1 900 politicians, including some of Temer’s ministers and allies.