'President only Falls by The Will of People on The Street, Not by The Will of Congress', Says Michel Temer

Former president says he lasted two and a half years with parliamentary support and defends semi-presidentialism to mitigate crisis

São Paulo

Jair Bolsonaro's impeachment would only be feasible if it's the will of the people on the street, since Congress alone won't overthrow anyone. This is the opinion of the president's predecessor, Michel Temer (MDB), 80, who came to the position after Dilma Rousseff (PT) was removed from office in 2016.

Temer denies the accusation made by former mayor Eduardo Cunha that he plotted the fall of the former chief, and he admits that impeachment causes "institutional trauma."

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Michel Temer - Reprodução

At his law firm in Itaim, Temer has received clients and politicians and worked on what he considers a way out for Brazilian political entropy: semi-presidentialism, in which the president shares powers with the prime minister.

Temer says he only made it through "those two and a half years" because he applied a version of the formula, by getting Congress to nominate ministers.

He hints at the idea that the next president needs to be someone with experience, but refuses to run.

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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