Temer asked Supreme Court to shelve investigation (May 22, 2017)

Brazilian president Michel Temer says evidence allegedly linking him to obstruction of justice in a broad corruption scandal has been falsified. He called on the Supreme Court to stop an investigation opened last week, until the question of manipulation of evidence could be resolved, reports the Financial Times. (See last Thursday's and Friday's posts.) 

Temer spoke out aggressively about billionaire, Joesley Batista this Saturday. In a televised address he accused the beef empire heir of insider trading and the manipulation of audiotapes, reports the New York Times. Secret recordings submitted by Batista to prosecutors as part of a plea-bargain appear to implicate Temer in a broad corruption scandal and have fueled calls for the president's resignation. 

Temer called Batista a criminal and accused him of carrying out lucrative trades in futures markets after negotiating a plea deal with investigators. Brazil’s securities regulator said Friday night that it was investigating alleged irregularities by JBS, including the possible crime of insider trading. Temer said JBS made money from the latest scandal by buying $1 billion in dollar contracts and selling the company’s shares before leaking the allegations to the press. If they are found guilty prosecutors may ask for even more than the $3.4 billion they currently demand as part of a promised leniency deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

An article in Valor argues that the Batista brothers' plea-bargain is part of a scheme to get in the U.S. Department of Justice's good graces and move the company to New York. JBS is planning a U.S. initial public offering of its international unit, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Temer has sought to paint himself as indispensable for unpopular economic reforms considered vital to pull the country out of a long recession, reports the Financial Times. Temer told the media that he would not resign, even if he is indicted. Analysts are speculating that if he is pushed out however, Congress would pick a reform-minded replacement to finish out the term and that this successor might keep the economic team valued by international investors, according to FT. There are even some rumors that finance minister Henrique Meirelles could be appointed caretaker president.

Yesterday Brazil's bar association voted to back impeachment, citing what it said was the president’s failure to denounce criminal activities and improper promises of favors, reports the Financial Times separately.

But also yesterday Temer gained a brief respite, when a major coalition partner, the PSDB social democrats delayed a decision on whether to pull out of the government, reports Bloomberg.

Protesters defied heavy rain yesterday to call for Temer's ouster, reports the Los Angeles Times. Organizers say they gathered 20,000 in São Paulo. The protests gathered people from across the political spectrum, according to the piece. In Rio de Janeiro protesters gathered in front of House speaker Rodrigo Maia's house, also accused of corruption.

"To say that this situation — Temer’s ongoing presidency — is unsustainable is an understatement. How can a major country possibly be governed by someone who everyone knows just months ago encouraged the payment of bribes to keep key witnesses silenced in a corruption investigation? The sole rationale for Temer’s presidency — that he would bring stability and signal to markets that Brazil was again open for business — has just collapsed in a heap of humiliation and destruction," writes Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept.

The Batista brothers' testimony includes the confession of buying 30 deputies' votes for Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, notes Página 12.

Página 12 notes the divide in Brazil's mainstream media: Folha and Estado are playing down the charges, while Globo is pushing hard for his resignation.

News Briefs

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• "Human rights groups in Colombia are calling on the International Criminal Court to investigate executives from Chiquita Brands for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity as a result of payments made to paramilitary groups more than a decade ago," reports the Associated Press.

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• Outgoing Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said today that his country had “done its duty” by granting asylum in 2012 to Julian Assange, and said he was glad Sweden had closed its rape case against the WikiLeaks founder, reports AFP.