AP Interview: Brazil’s Temer denies graft, defends legacy
NEW YORK — Brazilian President Michel Temer said Monday that corruption charges against him were the result of his administration’s attempts to reform the country’s pension system, an explanation sure to raise eyebrows, if not hackles, in Latin America’s largest nation.
Last year, Temer, a career politician known for his ability to whip votes in an often chaotic, multi-party system, was twice charged by Attorney General Rodrigo Janot in corruption cases involving alleged bribes and obstruction of justice. While as a sitting president Temer has been able to avoid trial, many political and legal observers believe those cases will be taken up after his term ends at the end of this year.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Temer denied wrongdoing and said his administration had suffered an “indignity” because it was attempting to take on the pension system, long one of the country’s most thorny issues. As part of that, Janot used all the resources at his disposal, Temer said.
“On one hand, I was trying to combat privileges, and on the other hand this man was trying to protect those privileges,” said Temer, speaking at the Four Seasons hotel. Temer was in New York to participate in this week’s high-level meetings of U.N. General Assembly.