Brazil's Temer decides to keep cabinet members alleged of corruption

brazil's interim President Michel Temer decided on Monday to have three cabinet members newly accused of corruption remain in office.

Media reports in the past few days highlighted the accusation against Tourism Minister Henrique Alves of taking Air Force planes for personal use, and the probe into a possible part of Attorney General Fabio Medina Osorio in the Petrobras corruption scheme.

Secretary of Women's Policies Fatima Pelaes, under an investigation of fraud and embezzlement of public funds, is also criticized by feminist groups for her opposition to the Brazilian abortion law over its license for raped women to abort.

According to local news website G1 reports, the interim president doesn't consider their situation to be serious enough to warrant sacking them.

Temer's decision is widely regarded as an attempt to mitigate the sufferings his administration faces as a result of controversial moves and statements made by cabinet members and himself, as well as corruption probes against ministers.

Recently, Temer lost Minister of Planning Romero Juca and Transparency Minister Fabiano Silveira. Both fell because of leaked recordings connecting them to the Petrobras corruption scheme.

Related:

Brazilian ministers investigated for corruption will have to step down, says govt

BRASILIA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Minister of the Presidency Eliseu Padilha, who is in charge of liaising between government officials, announced Monday that any officials being investigated by Operation Lava Jato will have to step down.

In an interview with the daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Padilha said this decision had been taken by interim President Michel Temer to prevent new revelations from destabilizing his government

source : xinhua