Brazil leader refuses to resign

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday rejected calls for his resignation, saying he will fight allegations that he endorsed the paying of hush money to a former lawmaker jailed for corruption.

Even in this country weary from the constant drip of revelations of a wideranging corruption investigation, the incendiary accusation set off a firestorm and Brazil’s highest court opened an investigation. Stocks and the currency plunged and rumors circulated that Temer would step down.

Instead, the embattled leader remained defiant in a national address to respond to a report by the newspaper late Wednesday that he was recorded endorsing payments to former lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha.

“At no time did I authorize the paying of anyone,” Temer said emphatically, raising his voice and pounding his index finger against the podium. “I did not buy anybody’s silence.”

“I will not resign,” he said.

The Supreme Federal Tribunal has opened an investigation into the accusations and sent Temer the recordings at his request. Senior politicians can be in- vestigated and tried only by Brazil’s highest court.

Following Globo’s report, Thursday began in a panic.

Within 90 minutes of the opening, Brazil’s main Ibovespa stock index dropped 10 percent and trading was stopped for 30 minutes. Congress cancelled its sessions, including suspending work on legislation that Temer’s administration hopes will pull Latin America’s largest economy out of its worst recession in decades.

The pressure built against Temer throughout the day, with reports that Cabinet ministers were considering quitting their posts and opposition politicians calling for his impeachment.