Temer is working to secure Cristovam's vote in the impeachment process.
Interim President Michel Temer is meeting with Senator Cristovam Buarque (PPS-DF), at a table that will also include the Minister of Education, Mendonça Filho, and the presidents of Caixa Econômica Federal, Banco do Brasil, and Correios (the Brazilian postal service), to discuss the creation of a Citizenship Action for Education; but Temer's objective is to secure Cristovam's vote for the president's removal. The senator, who voted for the admissibility of the impeachment process in the Senate, became critical of the interim government when Temer took office and admitted the possibility of changing his mind.
Brasilia 247 - Interim President Michel Temer meets with Senator Cristovam Buarque (PPS-DF), at a table that will also include the Minister of Education, Mendonça Filho, and the presidents of Caixa Econômica Federal, Banco do Brasil, and Correios (the Brazilian postal service). The meeting will have one explicit topic: the creation of a Citizenship Action for Education.
But Temer aims to secure Cristovam's vote for the impeachment of elected President Dilma Rousseff, according to columnist Lauro Jardim. Members of the Workers' Party (PT) believe the senator is one of those who could change his vote in the final stage of Dilma's removal process – the PPS holds a high-ranking position in the Temer government, with Raul Jungmann (PE) heading the Ministry of Defense.
In May, when he voted in favor of the definitive removal of President Dilma, Cristovam stated that his vote was moral, technical, and legal. At the time, the parliamentarian said that voting against impeachment would be "ignoring that there are indications of crimes of responsibility" on the part of Dilma. The senator, however, became critical of the interim government after Temer took office and admitted the possibility of changing his mind.
A Senate expert report delivered to the impeachment committee on the 27th concluded that Dilma did not engage in the so-called "fiscal maneuvers." The document, signed by three experts, notes that Dilma did not act to delay the transfer of R$ 3,5 billion from the Treasury to Banco do Brasil for the Plano Safra (agricultural subsidy program), one of the accusations included in the impeachment request against the president.
"Based on the analysis of the data, documents, and information related to the Plano Safra (agricultural plan), no act of commission by the Honorable President of the Republic was identified that directly or immediately contributed to the payment delays," says an excerpt from the report.read more).