Temer vows to carry out smooth transition to next gov´t
In a statement made Tuesday (Oct. 16) President Michel Temer pledged to make “smooth transition” to the next administration, regardless of who becomes Brazil’s president after the Oct. 28 election.
A book, Temer said, is being put together and will list the achievements of the present government, as well as suggestions to be implemented by the future leader, with a view to ensuring seamlessness.
The statement was made during a lecture at the Trade Association of Paraná State. “On [October] 28, we will start a government transition, which I intend to carry out smoothly. We will have less than two months to do it,” he said.
Temer said he was sorry he did not have the chance to receive the same treatment. “When I took office [after then President Dilma Rousseff was permanently ousted], there was no one, and no data had been recorded. Everything was removed. We had to start from scratch,” he added.
The elections, he went on to say, do not serve just to determine who will take the reins of the country, but also its opposition. “Our concept of opposition is not a legal, but a political one. The idea that those who lose the election must work to overthrow the elected government is a misconception. The elections initiate another moment in politics and administration, in which all Brazilians must aim for the good of the country,” he argued.
Overhauls
During the lecture, Temer opposed the formation of a Constituent Assembly—a possibility considered and subsequently dismissed by two of presidential hopefuls.
Regarding the pension and tax overhauls, the president said he would have already carried them out “if it weren’t for a plan long plotted to prevent me from conducting the pension reform. Back then, we had all votes counted to approve it, but there was a plot to stop it because of the privileges,” he said.
The pension reform has already been drafted and is now ready to be submitted to vote by Congress, he said. “We will have slightly more than two months to implement it, but that will depend on the elected president’s willingness to do it. Who knows, we may actually do it still this year,” the president said.
