RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday rejected calls for his resignation, saying he will fight allegations that he endorsed the paying of hush money to a former lawmaker jailed for corruption.
Even in this country weary from the constant drip of revelations of a wide-ranging corruption investigation, the incendiary accusation set off a firestorm and Brazil’s highest court opened an investigation. Stocks and the currency plunged and rumors circulated that Temer would step down.
Instead, the embattled leader remained defiant in a national address to respond to allegations he was recorded endorsing payments to former lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha. The existence and the contents of the recording were reported Wednesday night by the Globo newspaper.
“At no time did I authorize the paying of anyone,” Temer said emphatically, raising his voice and pounding his index finger against the podium. “I did not buy anybody’s silence.”
“I will not resign,” he said.
The Supreme Federal Tribunal opened an investigation into the accusations and lifted the seal on the recording. Globo then posted the nearly 39-minute recording, which is scratchy and often inaudible.
In it, two men can be heard talking about Cunha, who is now serving a sentence on corruption charges but many believe could still provide damaging testimony about dozens of other politicians. Globo’s report said they are Temer and JBS meat-packing company executive Joesley Batista. One man, who is apparently Temer, complains that Cunha could potentially embarrass him.
“Within my limits, I did the most I could there. I settled everything,” responds the other man, apparently Batista. “He came and collected, etc., etc., etc. I am good with Eduardo, OK?”
The first man then says: “You have to keep that up, see?” To which the second man responds: “Every month.”
The pressure built against Temer throughout the day. There was talk that Cabinet ministers were considering quitting their posts, and the culture minister did step down by day’s end. Opposition politicians called for his impeachment.
In the evening, a protest of several thousand people in Rio de Janeiro was broken up when men in masks threw objects at police, who responded with tear gas. In Sao Paulo, the nation’s largest city, hundreds of protesters gathered on a main avenue to demand Temer go.