Brasilia — Brazil’s Congress rejected corruption charges against President Michel Temer on Wednesday, meaning he will not have to face trial and is free to pursue austerity reforms in Latin America’s biggest economy. The vote in the lower house threw out the charges just an hour after Temer was discharged from the Brasilia hospital where he had been admitted earlier with a blocked urinary tract. Temer’s allies had been widely expected to bar a demand by prosecutors for the president to face trial in the Supreme Court, but a note of drama was injected by the surprise news that he had been taken to hospital. The president was admitted to the Army Hospital in the capital complaining of discomfort and underwent examination with a urinary catheter. He was then told to rest at home, the presidency said. Following the medical scare, Temer said, "I am in one piece," although he could have said the same thing about his escape from a potential trial. The first president in the country to face...
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