Brazil’s Acting President Refutes Campaign Finance Allegations
Brazil’s Acting President Refutes Campaign Finance Allegations
Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer denied allegations he sought inappropriate campaign donations for his party and pledged to remain undeterred in his efforts to pull the country out of crisis.
In a plea bargain published by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, a former executive from state-run oil company Petrobras claimed that Temer in 2012 asked for donations to an ally’s campaign.
“Nothing will keep us from continuing to work for the good of Brazil,” Temer told reporters in Brasilia. “We won’t tolerate affirmations of this nature.”
In an impromptu speech in which he frequently switched between defending himself against the charges and highlighting government advances, he said at times he was speaking as president, at times as a citizen.
Temer highlighted economic measures and government spending cuts during his first month in office. He said the acts described in the testimony of Sergio Machado, a former executive of Petrobras unit Transpetro, were not befitting of a president, adding that as a man and as a leader he wouldn’t tolerate such “lies.”
The allegations underscore how the two-year Carwash corruption investigation continues to dog the Temer administration, which lost two of its ministers over evidence they sought to cover up the probe.
Brazilian assets on Wednesday briefly plunged when Machado’s testimony was published but recovered in afternoon trading. Brazil’s currency and equity markets fell on Thursday on investor concerns that the U.K. could leave the European Union.
Temer took over last month after Brazil’s Senate voted to suspend Dilma Rousseff during her impeachment trial. Financial markets cautiously welcomed the new government with the hopes that Temer’s economic team would reduce the budget deficit and get Latin America’s biggest economy growing again.
Temer originally planned a national TV address for Friday night but decided last minute to speak with the press to refute the allegations. He promised more policies to help Brazil’s economy, claiming to have broad support from Congress and the Brazilian people.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Edgerton in Brasilia at aedgerton@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Walter Brandimarte
