Brazil Congress reject Temer’s corruption charges

‘Brazilian lawmakers have tossed out a corruption charge against scandal-plagued President Michel Temer, saving the center-right leader from becoming the country’s second leader in 12 months to be forced from office.
Despite hugely embarrassing bribery allegations, Temer had been expected to survive. But the ease of his victory was a surprise at a time when Brazil is at the height of its biggest ever anti-graft investigation, dubbed Car Wash.
The lower house of Congress needed a two-thirds majority to authorize a trial in the Supreme Court, while Temer needed only one third, or 172 deputies, either to support him or to abstain and get the charge shelved.
In the end, he got 263 votes out of a possible 513 in a process where lawmakers voted one by one, making short, often emotional statements live on national television. That was more than half of the whole chamber.
Temer called it “a clear, indisputable” victory.’
Read more: Brazil Congress reject Temer’s corruption charges