President Temer of Brazil has held on to his job after surviving a fraught vote on whether he should face trial on corruption charges.
Mr Temer, 76, is accused of lining up millions of dollars in bribes from the meat-packing giant JBS, one of Brazil’s biggest companies.
The lower house of congress descended into chaos last night as MPs traded accusations of corruption and unloaded briefcases filled with fake bank notes on each other. Mr Temer’s critics failed to secure the two-thirds majority required to send the case to the supreme court, which would have suspended him from office for six months.
The final tally showed 263 votes in support of Mr Temer and 227 against, well below the 300 votes in favour of the president that had been predicted by government whips.
It puts the president on an uncertain footing as he attempts to pull the country out of recession because he needs a two-thirds majority to pass an overhaul of the pensions system. Further votes on approving corruption charges are expected to be tabled in the coming weeks.
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After last night’s vote, Mr Temer said that he would pass “all the reforms that the country needs”.
“Now it is time to invest in our country,” he said. “Brazil is ready to start growing again.”
The charge relates to an alleged payment of $150,000 to a presidential aide, which prosecutors say was part of a $12 million package to be paid in exchange for political favours.
A recording purportedly made in March emerged in which Mr Temer apparently supported the continued payment of hush money to Eduardo Cunha, a former speaker who is serving a jail term for corruption.
Ricardo Tripoli, leader of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, Mr Temer’s main coalition ally, said he must be investigated, “not because we want to oust the president, but because Brazilians are tired of so much suspicion surrounding their politicians”. Opinion polls suggest that 80 per cent of Brazilians want Mr Temer to face trial. His approval rating is at 5 per cent.
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Mr Temer took over as president in May last year after his predecessor Dilma Rousseff faced impeachment over accusations of budget mishandling. Ms Rousseff succeeded Lula da Silva, who is revered by millions of voters for welfare reforms that helped to lift about 35 million people out of poverty in the boom years. He was sentenced last month to nine and a half years on corruption charges.