GRAFT ALLEGATIONS
Brazil edges to crisis as Michel Temer refuses to quit
A lame-duck president clinging to power could bring hundreds of thousands onto the streets
Brasilia — Brazilian President Michel Temer’s refusal to resign in the face of a Supreme Court investigation raises the prospect of a drawn-out fight for survival by an unpopular leader that would stall reforms, deter investors and leave Latin America’s largest economy adrift. Legal experts and some of Temer’s political allies said his determination to fight corruption allegations could prolong a political crisis for months. That could halt congressional passage of measures needed to pull Brazil from its worst recession. The prospect of Brazil tumbling back into political paralysis just a year after the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff sent the benchmark Bovespa stock index toppling 9% on Thursday, its biggest daily decline since the 2008 financial crisis. Details of a plea bargain deal by executives of the world’s largest meatpacking company, JBS, released on Friday showed Temer accused of attempts to obstruct a corruption probe and of receiving $4.6m in bribes. In a ...
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