Brazil's Temer: 'I won't resign' amid corruption allegations

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday rejected calls for his resignation, saying he will fight allegations he endorsed the paying of hush money to a former lawmaker jailed for corruption.

Even in this country weary from the constant drip of revelations of a wide-ranging corruption investigation, the incendiary accusation set off a firestorm, and Brazil's highest court opened an investigation. Stocks and the currency plunged, and rumors circulated Temer would step down.

Instead, the embattled leader remained defiant in a national address to respond to allegations he was recorded endorsing payments to former lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha. The existence and the contents of the recording were reported Wednesday night by the Globo newspaper.

"At no time did I authorize the paying of anyone," Temer said emphatically, raising his voice and pounding his index finger against the podium. "I did not buy anybody's silence."

"I will not resign," he said.

The Supreme Federal Tribunal opened an investigation into the accusations and lifted the seal on the recording. Globo then posted the nearly 39-minute recording, which is scratchy and often inaudible.

In it, two men can be heard talking about Cunha, who is serving a sentence on corruption charges but many believe still could provide damaging testimony about dozens of other politicians. Globo's report said they are Temer and JBS meat-packing company executive Joesley Batista.

One man, who is apparently Temer, complains Cunha could embarrass him.

"Within my limits, I did the most I could there. I settled everything," responds the other man, apparently Batista. "He came and collected, etc., etc., etc. I am good with Eduardo, OK?"

The first man then says: "You have to keep that up, see?" To which the second man responds: "Every month."

Even before the audio was released, Thursday began in a panic after Globo's report.

Within 90 minutes of the opening, Brazil's main Ibovespa stock index dropped 10 percent, and trading was stopped for 30 minutes. Brazil's currency, the real, lost 8 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, according to the Central Bank's closing figure.

Congress canceled its sessions, including suspending work on legislation Temer's administration hopes will pull Latin America's largest economy out of its worst recession in decades.

The pressure built against Temer throughout the day. There was talk Cabinet ministers were considering quitting their posts, and the culture minister stepped down by day's end.

Opposition politicians called for his impeachment. Two small allied parties pulled their support for Temer in Congress.

"There are parties leaving his base, ministers leaving the Cabinet. Even if the recordings don't show something that terrible, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube," said Claudio Couto, a political-science professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas, a Sao Paulo-based university and think tank. "If Temer doesn't fall, he will lead a walking dead administration."

In the evening, a protest of several thousand people in Rio de Janeiro was broken up when men in masks threw objects at police, who responded with tear gas. In Sao Paulo, the nation's largest city, hundreds of protesters gathered on a main avenue to demand Temer go.

"After the contents of the tape became public, there's no other way out for Temer than to leave," said Augusto Tadeki, a 23-year-old unemployed computer technician. "He either has to resign, or he'll be impeached. We will stay here; we will demonstrate every day until he leaves."

Five of the top 10 trending topics in Brazil on Twitter were related to the scandal, including the subject "Temer will resign."

Many Brazilians expressed shock on social media when Temer finally spoke Thursday night and said he would stay in power.

"Michel Temer is like that boyfriend who doesn't know it's over," one Twitter user said.