Brazil: Temer says claims against him “untrue and criminal”

In a speech to the press held Thursday (Jun. 16) at the Planalto presidential palace, Brazil's interim President Michel Temer described the claims made by former Transpetro President Sérgio Machado against him as “irresponsible,” “frivolous,” “criminal,” and “untrue.” According to Machado's testimony, heard as part of a plea bargain deal, Temer requested illicit funds for the campaign of Gabriel Chalita, who was running for mayor of São Paulo at the time, in 2012.

Temer stressed he would not allow “a frivolous fact” to obstruct the dealings of the government. “Nothing will hinder our mission, our job to make this period, during which I am president of the country—backed by an extraordinary team—nothing will keep us from working on behalf of Brazil and the Brazilian people,” he declared.

“I would like to address my family and the numerous friends and acquaintances I have in Brazil, the Brazilian people, to say that I will not let these frivolous claims go unnoticed,” he said. The acting president also pledged to provide public clarifications whenever facts of this nature emerge.

Sérgio Machado, who gave a number of testimonies as part of a plea bargain under Operation Car Wash, said that Michel Temer came to him to negotiate the transfer of over $420 thousand in bribes to fund Chalita's campaign. The funds, Machado says, were provided by the construction company Queiroz Galvão.

On Wednesday (15), in a note released by the president's communication office, Temer dismissed as “utterly deceitful” the version of the facts according to which he requested illicit funds from the former president of Transpetro. The note says the president's ties with Machado were merely formal, and adds that Temer has “never asked for fund collection in violation of the law, be it for himself or his party, much less for other candidates whom he might have supported in competitions.”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira