The criminal charges against President Michel Temer

Amid the controversy of the presidential election, Brazil’s attentions are exclusively turned toward the next four years. With the genuine fears, blustery scare tactics, and allegations of electoral fraud, several current issues have passed by completely unnoticed. How many Brazilians, for instance, are aware that the Federal Police recently sent a report to the office of the Federal Attorney General, stating that sitting president Michel Temer received at least BRL 5.9 million (USD 1.6 million) in bribes as part of a criminal scheme which has been in place since 1995? Very few, I would guess.

Mr. Temer, who will see his disastrous term as president come to an end in December, has been under investigation by the Feds since last year. A police inquiry was opened after he signed a controversial decree extending the concessions of companies operating at the port of Santos. It was suggested that Mr. Temer received