Brazilian interim president Michel Temer's government has suffered a new blow when his anti-corruption minster resigned on Monday after leaked recordings showed him trying to squash a massive corruption scandal that has ensnarled the country's political and business elite.
Suspended President Dilma Rousseff said in an interview published Sunday that leaked audio recordings of men backing her impeachment show the effort to oust her is meant to stop a wide-ranging corruption probe that has implicated numerous leading Brazilian politicians and businessmen.
Brazil's suspended president, Dilma Rousseff, on Wednesday accused interim head of state Michel Temer of intending to privatize the oil discovered in recent years in deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean and thus deprive the nation's education sector of funding.
Venezuela, in the midst of a most serious domestic political and economic situation, and with less foreign allies is scheduled to take the chair of Mercosur as of next June for the following six months. However it has been agreed that Uruguay will continue leading Mercosur negotiations with the European Union for a much delayed wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement.
Brazil's interim president announced austerity measures on Tuesday aimed at pulling Latin America's largest economy from its worst crisis in decades, warning that a failure to act would sentence future generations to “extraordinary hardship.” Speaking with government leaders in a national televised meeting, interim president Michel Temer, 75, also banged his hand on the table while insisting he was up to the job.
Brazil's Planning Minister Romero Juca said on Monday he will temporarily step down after a newspaper published recordings of him discussing plans to obstruct the country's biggest-ever corruption investigation, which includes him among its targets.
Brazil's government on Tuesday will announce spending curbs and other measures to reduce its rising debt burden and contain a fiscal deficit as it seeks to regain the confidence of investors, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said.
Brazilian federal judge hearing the Petrobras case, Sergio Moro, avoided commenting Monday on the voice recording in which a minister of acting-President Michel Temer suggests ways to end the investigation into corruption at the state-run oil company Petrobras, but warned that the government should not interfere in trials, which are the responsibility of the justice system.
Argentina will be one of the main priorities for Brazil’s interim government under President Michel Temer, declared foreign minister José Serra who is expected this Monday in Buenos Aires for his first overseas trip. He is also anticipated a review and redraw of Mercosur plus agreements with the US, European Union and Japan.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Brazil's two biggest cities Sunday to protest acting President Michel Temer, trying to keep up pressure on his interim administration only 10 days after he was sworn in. A march in Sao Paulo was heading toward Temer's residence, but police blocked roads near the house, and the interim president left for the capital of Brasilia hours earlier.