A ministry building in Brazil’s capital Brasilia was set on fire on Wednesday by protestors who demanded President Michel Temer’s resignation over corruption charges, reported Reuters. This prompted Temer’s government to deploy armed forces to assist the police in maintaining law and order in the country’s capital. Temer has been accused of paying off a potential witness in a corruption probe.
The demonstrators chanted “Out with Temer!” as they marched towards the Congress building. They also called for an immediate general election to choose the next president instead of letting the country’s coalition pick their candidate. The next presidential election in Brazil is scheduled for the end of 2018. Temer has refused to resign and has said he is willing to face the case in the court.
Some protestors also set the furniture in the Agriculture Ministry on fire and sprayed graffiti deriding Temer on government buildings, Reuters reported. The police resorted to tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to contain the protestors. They used barricades to hold back the agitators from heading to the Congress building, where a meeting was held by the government’s main ally, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, to decide whether or not to back Temer.
One protestor was shot and wounded, reported Al Jazeera. Another demonstrator was wounded by a rubber bullet that hit his face. At least 49 people were left hurt in the clashes, the report said.
The move to deploy the Army, which was authorised based on a presidential decree, drew immense criticism. Analysts compared it to the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1964 to 1985. “It is a bad sign at this moment, it could signal weakness from the government,” Jairo Nicolau, a professor of political science at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro told The New York Times.
Temer, who served as the vice president during former President Dilma Rousseff’s tenure, took over after she was impeached for breaking Budget accounting laws. Brazil’s Supreme Court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption.
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