President Michel Temer’s administration turned its attention Thursday to pressing its reform agenda, but it is unclear if it has the support to govern after convincing a small majority in Brazil's Congress not to suspend the leader and make him stand trial on corruption charges.
Brazil's President Michel Temer admits for the first time that the crucial pension reform legislation could not be passed by Congress this year. In an interview with Poder360 news website, Temer said the government had to again consult lawmakers in the government coalition, many of whom have already said they are doubtful the legislation will pass this year.
A Brazilian congressional committee on Wednesday voted against making President Michel Temer stand trial on corruption charges. The 39-26 vote by the justice committee in the lower house was non-binding but gives Temer political momentum ahead of the full chamber taking up the issue.
The Senate on Tuesday rejected a decision of Brazil's top court and returned a suspended lawmaker to his post, in what critics said was the latest self-protection move by politicians accused of corruption.
Brazil’s police investigation into insider trading by the owners of the world’s largest meatpacker JBS SA has found that they made a profit by taking financial positions before details of their plea bargain deal with prosecutors became public, the head of the probe said on Tuesday.
Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Thursday “there’s a very good chance” that the country’s proposed pension reform bill will be approved by the end of the year. Addressing a question-and-answer session at an Institute for International Finance meeting in Washington Meirelles said that it would be simpler to pass the bill this year than next year because of political challenges that could come with Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October 2018.
A Brazilian congressional report recommended on Tuesday that President Michel Temer should not face trial for obstruction of justice and membership in a criminal organization, arguing that the charges against him were unfounded.
A senior official in Brazil said there are no current plans to privatize the national oil company to deal with its massive debt, according to a new report by Reuters. Fernando Coelho Filho, the minister of mines and energy, had suggested that Petrobras could face such a sale in the future, but did not provide a concrete timeline.
The Brazilian government has revoked a controversial decree that would have opened up a vast reserve in the Amazon to commercial mining. The area, covering 46,000 sq km, straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para and is thought to be rich in gold, iron, manganese and other minerals.
Approval for Brazilian President Michel Temer's government has plummeted, according to a poll published on Tuesday, as the scandal-plagued leader faces new corruption charges and struggles to push his economic reform agenda through Congress.