This week the attorney general accused the sitting Brazilian President Michel Temer of corruption. This accusation is based on the conclusion of the Federal Police’s investigation into leaked audio recordings of Temer discussing the acceptance of bribes with the owner of JBS, a major meatpacking firm.
Here in Brazil, there is no doubt that Temer participated in these corruption schemes, at least as far as we’re concerned.
In the last few weeks, they acquitted the Dilma-Temer 2014 election campaign of corruption and buried the evidence. This gave a little more breathing space to the government, but now the pressure is back on.
Temer is very weak. His allies in the National Congress want to disentangle themselves from the government and stop supporting it. If that were to happen Temer would find it even more difficult to approve the attacks on pensions and workers rights which are being demanded by the capitalist class and which are being resisted by the workers.
He has already faced several difficulties. In the last few weeks the Brazilian Social Affairs Commission (CAS), rejected the text of the proposed labour reform and this coming Friday (30 June) has been marked as a day for another general strike.
The fact is that the only reason Temer has not yet fallen is because of the Brazilian reformists – the leaders of the trade unions etc. – who don’t want to mobilize an indefinite general strike.
They would rather place their faith in the establishment to bring down Temer. But if we depend on the ministers of the Brazilian judiciary, all they will do is bring down this guy and put another one who has the appearance of being more legitimate, but only so that he can continue the attacks on workers.
We need to bring down Temer, bring down the whole National Congress and fight for socialism.
