Temer indictment a move to avert pension reform, says health minister

Commenting on the corruption charges filed against President Michel Temer by the Prosecutor-General's Office (PGR), Health Minister Ricardo Barros on Tuesday (June 27) said the judiciary establishment's opposition to the goverment's austere pension reform was due to their corporate “privileges”.

“The judiciary is the most privileged corporate class in the entire Brazilian bureaucracy and as such it obviously doesn't want a pension reform [that could threaten their privileges] and will make every possible move to avert it,” he said.

In his opinion, Temer's indictment had underlying motivations. “It 's a collusion, a class dispute, a clash of interests we are watching day by day. Fortunately for us, the public won't accept this maneuver or tolerate these superbargains—it wants criminals jailed,” he said referring to the plea bargaining testimony of JBS business tycoon Joesley Batista, which incriminated the president. On Tuesday afternoon, President Temer rebuffed his indictment and defied prosecutors to produce evidence.

Barros was in São Paulo for Ethanol Summit 2017, one of the world's leading renewable energy events. He told journalists “Brazil must continue to work” in spite of the political crisis. “Political turbulence should no longer affect people's lives and that's we [the government] are doing [carry on working].”

Translated by Mayra Borges