Prosecutor says Temer turned the country into a banana republic by appointing Moreira Franco.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Michel Temer swore in his new ministers this Friday amidst the controversy created by the appointment of Moreira Franco to the recreated General Secretariat of the Presidency, which granted privileged jurisdiction to the PMDB member, and justified the elevation of the status of one of his closest allies as a "mere formality".

"Moreira was always called 'minister.' On international trips, he was the leader of the delegation of ministers who accompanied us to encourage investments," said Temer. "Today it's just a formality, because in reality Moreira was already a minister back then."

Moreira Franco, until now the executive secretary of the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI), will now be in charge of communication, protocol, and the administrative structure of the Presidency of the Republic, in addition to the PPI. One of Temer's oldest and closest allies, he was mentioned several times in the testimony of former Odebrecht director of institutional affairs, Cláudio Melo.

The minister was accused of soliciting financial "support" from the company, later passing the negotiations with the executives to the current Chief of Staff, Eliseu Padilha. When the plea bargain was made public, Moreira even prepared and delivered a letter of resignation to Temer, to be used whenever the president deemed it appropriate.

In an interview shortly after taking office, Moreira was asked about the advisability of becoming a minister at this time, but he denied that it had anything to do with the need for privileged jurisdiction.

"There was absolutely no other intention than to give more efficiency, material strength, and substance to the president's actions," he stated.

Asked if there wasn't a parallel between his situation and that of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was appointed Chief of Staff by then-president Dilma Rousseff—and prevented from taking office by a lawsuit filed by the then-opposition in the Supreme Federal Court—Moreira stated that there is no connection.

"This is not an attempt to quell a political crisis because we are not experiencing a crisis. The government has just given a demonstration of strength and vigor," he stated.

Temer also swore in the new Minister of the Government Secretariat, Antonio Imbassahy, who takes over from Geddel Vieira Lima, and the new Minister of Human Rights, Luislinda Valois – a ministry that was recreated by Temer. Alexandre de Moraes also signed a new oath of office, changing his ministry to Justice and Public Security.

"Having these new ministers means gradually gaining the support of Brazilian society," said the president. "Beyond the support of the National Congress, which I call governability, I have another concept, which is governance, which is society. Society has to recognize what the government is doing."

Temer also said in his speech that he hopes the reforms currently being processed in Congress will be approved as quickly as the country needs, and that he will count on Imbassahy's coordination for this.

"Dialogue with the National Congress is fundamental. It is what has allowed us, throughout this period, to practically advance the four inaugural and fundamental reforms for Brazil," he said.

"Two of them are practically approved, one of them is already definitively approved, and two others that will now be processed, we also hope, at a speed compatible with what Brazil needs," he added.