Brazilian President refuses to resign despite corruption allegations

Brazilian President Michel Temer refused to resign on Thursday despite being implicated in corruption allegations.

"I will not resign, I repeat, I will not resign." He also demanded "a full and very rapid investigation for the...Brazilian people," Xinhua quoted Temer as saying in an address to the nation.

The situation of Brazilian President Michel Temer became delicate on Thursday following a newspaper report that he is accused of taking bribes and endorsing bribes to silence a witness in a corruption case.

When the news broke on Wednesday evening, opponents started to call for Temer's resignation or impeachment, Xinhua reported.

Local newspaper reported on Wednesday that a leading meatpacking company chairman had recorded his conversation with Temer and turned the recordings over to the Supreme Court.

In the recordings, Temer reportedly endorsed the bribing of former Chamber of Deputies speaker Eduardo Cunha in exchange for Cunha's silence.

"In the Supreme Court, I will show that I had no involvement with these events. I will not resign. I know what I have done and I know the correctness of my actions," the president stressed.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court launched an investigation into Temer and he faced four separate impeachment requests in Congress.

--IANS

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