On Monday Brazil's top federal prosecutor, Rodrigo Janot charged the President of Brazil, Michel Temer with taking multimillion-dollar bribes. Janot who launched an investigation last month into the president, accused him of corruption, obstruction of justice and being part of a criminal organization.
A recording was leaked that supposedly features Temer approving misappropriated funds for former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha who is currently serving a 15-year sentence for corruption. Rodrigo Janot brought the charges before the Supreme Court and now has to wait for the lower house of Congress to vote on whether Temer will be tried by the tribunal.
Temer's alliance confident they can block the trial.
Lawmakers in Temer's alliance are confident that they have the votes to block two-thirds of the majority needed to approve the trial. However, this might not be a viable option as the counter votes may lessen if the matter is repeatedly brought before the court.
Reuters reported that one top lawmaker said, "If this grinds on with multiple votes, you may start to see a lack of governability. In that case, there will be defections, and colleagues may start to move against Temer."
Temer's office and his attorney, Antonio Mariz, have refused to comment on the charges. However, Temer has repeatedly mentioned his innocence and has refused to resign despite numerous calls for him to do so.
Temer has also continued to portray his government as a fair one executing its tasks as usual. On Monday, Temer released his latest statement on the on-going investigation during his first address after his return from Norway and Russia.
Unfortunately for Temer, the countries he visited focused more on his corruption allegations, especially that of the 'Car Wash' investigation which was emphasized by Norwegian's Prime Minister, Erna Solberg.
To make things worse, Norway announced a 50 percent cut in funding for Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest Fund due to the increasing rate of deforestation. Even thought the issue of deforestation began before Temer's tenure, experts argue that his policies are adding fuel to the fire.
What now for Temer?
Temer and one-third of his cabinet, are under serious investigation.
Reuters reported that over 90 people have been convicted. The president is under fire and is now in pole position to attain the lowest approval rating for a Brazilian president rating of a president since 1989.
