Brazilian President Reacts and Says Criticism Does Not Bother Him

04/13/2018 - 10h20

New suspicions involving friends and family of president Michel Temer have led the president to devise, on Thursday (12), a plan to avoid a new political crisis.

He met with ministers, government leaders and his team of lawyers in order to determine political and legal strategies.

According to their plan, as of next week, government supporters will use the lower house of congress to defend the honor of the president and will classify accusations against him as 'conspiracy'.

The tone of the speech determined by the administration was already adopted by minister Carlos Marun. In an interview, he said Temer is a victim of 'persecution'.

	Renato Costa/FramePhoto/Folhapress
	President Michel Temer and ministers Eliseu Padilha and Torquato Jardim during a ministerial meeting in Brasilia

The minister referred to a news article published by Folha reporting that the wife of colonel João Baptista Lima, a friend of the president, paid for construction expenses in cash. The construction was related to one of the president daughters, Maristela Temer.

He also doubted the colonel's wife paid for such expenses in cash. Such information was confirmed by the contractor responsible for the construction.

To prevent the publication of private financial information of the president's family members Temer went back on his promise to release his bank statements to the press after justice Luis Robert Barroso ordered to lift his bank secrecy.

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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