Brazilian President Michel Temer has sent in federal troops to maintain social order in the capital of Brasilia after government buildings were evacuated following a string of clashes between left-wing protesters and police.
The clashes come amidst a political corruption scandal that exploded after a recording emerged in which Temer appears to approve a series of bribes to corrupt politicians to keep them from implicating him in the larger corruption scheme engulfing Petrobras, the state-run oil company.
During the tenure of socialist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, executives at Petrobras established a kickback scheme in which the government overpaid independent contractors, who would then pay politicians bribes. Among those implicated are former Speaker of the House Eduardo Cunha, former president and minister of energy Dilma Rousseff, and da Silva himself.
The audio in question appeared to show Temer approving bribes to Cunha in exchange for his silence on Temer’s participation in the scheme. Temer has claimed the audio is doctored and denied any wrongdoing. Temer has rejected calls to resign, stating on national television he “never authorized payments to anyone to stay quiet.”
“I will not resign. I did not buy anyone’s silence,” he said, demanding “a full and quick investigation to clear up (the situation) for the Brazilian people.”
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Brasilia towards the Brazilian Congress demanding Temer’s resignation and fresh elections over the allegations, as well as protesting a range of his economic reforms that include public sector spending. Temer has never won a presidential election, taking over after Rousseff’s impeachment.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets as a total of 49 people sustained injuries, including one man suffering a serious wound to the head and another having his hand blown off while throwing an explosive device at police.
According to local media, protesters scuffled with police while using portable toilets as barricades, as well as setting fire to the Agriculture Ministry, forcing the building to be evacuated.
Temer used a decree to deploy troops, based on an amendment to the Brazilian Constitution allowing the army to step in when police forces are overwhelmed. The last time the decree was invoked was in 1980, under the dictatorial regime of João Figueiredo.
Addressing the nation amidst the civil unrest, Defence Minister Raul Jungmann confirmed troops had been deployed to defend government buildings. “This mess, this mayhem is unacceptable,” Jungmann said. “President Temer will not allow it.”
Some lawmakers criticized the measure as excessive.
“It is an unthinkable decision, totally out of proportion with the situation,” Congressman Alessandro Molon, of the opposition Sustainability Network party, told Reuters on Thursday. “It shows a fragile government whose days are numbered.”
The protests are the most violent to take place in Brasilia since anti-government demonstrations in 2013 against former socialist president Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached following a corruption scandal.
An estimated three million people participated in the demonstrations against Rousseff nationwide, which opposed Rousseff’s grandiose spending plans such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in addition to protesting corruption.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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