Brazil’s Congress rejects corruption charges against President Temer

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Brazil's lower house on Wednesday voted against putting President Michel Temer on trial on corruption charges, making him free to pursue austerity reforms in Latin America's biggest economy.

After 172 lawmakers voted to throw out the charges, Temer's opponents could no longer reach the 342 votes – or two thirds of the seats – required to authorize the top court to put him on trial.

Brazil's Lower House's President Rodrigo Maia before a vote on whether Congress will allow charges against Temer to be sent to the Supreme Court for trial, in Brasilia, Brazil, October 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

In August, the lower house voted 263-227 to block an initial corruption charge against Temer and he was expected to get a similar result on Wednesday.

The vote means that Temer is safe from prosecution while he remains president. But he is still subject to investigation and possible trial by lower courts after his term ends in late 2018.

Allies said Brazil could not afford the political upheaval of removing a second president in little over a year, as Latin America’s largest economy struggles to overcome deep recession. Temer succeeded impeached leftist president Dilma Rousseff in 2016.

Opposition members of the lower chamber of Brazil's Congress protest before a vote on whether the Congress allows charges against President Michel Temer to be sent to the Supreme Court for trial, in Brasilia, October 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Opponents criticized Temer for making policy concessions and fast-tracking pork barrel spending to win votes to ensure his survival.

The vote results were announced just an hour after Temer, 77, was discharged from the hospital where he was 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 the hospital.

The president was admitted to the Army Hospital in the capital Brasilia complaining of discomfort, and was examined with a urinary catheter.

The entrance of the Army Hospital, where the Brazil's President Michel Temer was taken due to a urinary tract obstruction, his office said, in Brasilia, October 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

On release, he was told to go home to rest, the presidency said.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters