A lot of things are falling into place...

The year in which Brazil lost its way is drawing to a close, and the penny is dropping for everyone who, for various reasons, believed it would be possible to make it into 2018 with the Temer government, its economic disaster, and its social atrocities. Allies are throwing in the towel, and governors and the allied base in the Chamber of Deputies are giving the economic team the middle finger. A large part of the business community is losing its illusions, and analysts are harshly criticizing the delay and weakness of the measures to stimulate the economy. But it is mainly the people who are finally realizing the truth. After a Datafolha poll with discouraging results, the CUT/Vox Populi survey, highlighted by 247, points to Temer as the most unpopular president in history, approved by only 8% (and by only 4% in the Northeast), and rejected by 55% of Brazilians (and by 67% of Northeasterners).

It's time to repeat the phrase Temer said about Dilma when her popularity fell to the same 8% he has now: "Today, the rate is really very low. Nobody will last three and a half years with this low rate." And will he last two years at the same level? When the pension and labor reforms, which punish the poorest, begin to be seriously implemented, his unpopularity will inevitably increase.

After Ronaldo Caiado defended Temer's resignation and direct elections, now it was the turn of Cássio Cunha Lima, a member of the PSDB party, to admit that it would be very difficult for him to finish his term. But unlike Caiado, he speculated about the indirect election of the president of the Supreme Federal Court, Minister Carmen Lúcia. Increasingly, the PSDB is seeking an arrangement, a top-down pact, to get rid of Temer through indirect elections. The truth is that their plan failed. They imagined a more successful government, a president with greater leadership and firmness, and they didn't foresee that Meirelles would come to deepen the recession. If Temer had proven to be a president like Itamar – somewhat bland but committed to tackling national problems – if the economy had reacted and if the fiscal adjustment had been less painful and more efficient, in 2018 the PSDB would have reaped the rewards of the coup with the direct election of a PSDB member. Everything went wrong. Tied to Temer, the PSDB is destined to lose again in 2018.

It took a while for the people to realize what was happening because the anti-Dilma, anti-Lula, and anti-PT crusade had so thoroughly poisoned their conscience. After the former president became the scapegoat of the country, the economy began to falter, and Lava Jato opened fire on the PT for over a year (only now focusing on the PMDB), creating the perception that Dilma's removal, although unjust and a coup, could bring better days. Everything went wrong. The recession and unemployment deepened, the reforms punish the poorest, and what we achieved as far as a Welfare State is beginning to slip away. Not to mention the corruption, which permeates the highest levels of government. The people are saying this in the polls, but in order to make their choice at the ballot box, a solution needs to be found.

Let's not fool ourselves. The TSE (Superior Electoral Court) will not condemn Temer in the case against the ticket that elected him with Dilma. The president of the court, Gilmar Mendes, makes no secret of the fact that he is acting to save Temer. Now he is already saying that the trial of the ticket may be postponed until the second half of next year. Between appeals and delays, we will reach 2018 and everything may settle down, with the excuse that there will be very little time left before the presidential election.

What could force a move through early direct elections in 2017 is popular pressure. With so many pieces of the puzzle falling into place, it could gain momentum next year, with the necessary force to shake up that house where it is said that the roar of the streets is an order.