Brazil's interim president was US intelligence worker

Brazil's new acting president Michel Temer was an embassy informant for US intelligence, WikiLeaks on Friday revealed.

According to the whistleblowing website, Temer communicated with the US embassy in Brazil via telegram, and such content would be classified as "sensitive" and "for official use only".

Two cables were released, dated January 11, 2006, and June 21, 2006.

One shows a document sent from Sao Paolo, Brazil, to -- among other recipients -- the US Southern Command in Miami. Temer in the document discusses the political situation in Brazil during the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Regarding the 2006 elections, when Lula was re-elected, Temer shared scenarios in which his party Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) would win the elections.

He declined to predict the outcome of the race, but said there would be a run-off and that "anything could happen".

Temer has replaced Dilma Rousseff, who was suspended from office earlier this week, after the Senate approved impeachment against her.

Following the suspension of Rousseff, the country's first female president, Temer called for unity and said his primary task was to form a government of "national salvation" that could restore Brazil's credibility so it could attract investment.

"Trust me," he said in his inaugural speech at the Planalto presidential palace. "Trust the values of our people and our ability to recuperate the economy."

His message came a few hours after he was accused of treachery by his former running mate Rousseff, who claimed she was forced out of office by "sabotage", "open conspiracy" and a "coup".

Rousseff was stripped of her powers on Thursday after losing a preliminary impeachment vote in the Senate. This followed a similar crushing defeat in the Congress in April. She now faces trial by the Senate on charges of doctoring government accounts to give an unrealistically healthy impression ahead of the 2014 election.

--IANS

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