Brazil president quips, says he will miss “Temer out”

In a playful tone, President Michel Temer said he will miss the shouts of “Fora, Temer” (“Temer out!”), often heard at anti-government demonstrations since he took office in May 2016. The good-humored statement was made today (Dec. 19), during his last cabinet meeting.

After January, the president said, after Jair Bolsonaro takes office as Brazil’s new president, the landscape will be a different one. “I’ll be out indeed. But it took some time, two and a half years. It took two years and eight months under not just protests of a political nature, but also the extraordinary efforts from a section of the press, which tried to bring us down,” Temer added, saying that his administration moved on, thanks to the support of his team, despite the rallies.

Popularity

Temer noted that the recent opinion poll shows he is leaving the government with the market’s approval. “There’s a dissonance in terms of popularity, but when the market behaves like this in a really short time, this soon reaches everybody’s ears,” he declared.

The president said “the truth will come eventually,” along with the recognition of his government. “Recognizing does not mean the same as knowing it. You may know it, but without recognizing it. We’re known, but a certain recognition can already be seen.”

Pension system

Temer mentioned the approval of the labor reform under his administration and said he was not successful in his attempts to conduct an overhaul in the country’s pension system because he fell victim of a police where his “detractors ended up in jail,” adding he is convinced the reform will be approved under President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro.