President Michel Temer plans to announce a new series of measures this week to jump-start Brazil’s economy as he grapples with new corruption allegations and plunging approval ratings.
The new measures are intended to help Brazilian consumers struggling with debt and and other regulatory issues, according to local media reports. A government spokesperson did not immediately return requests for comment.
The package is likely to be presented after Brazil’s Senate holds a vote on one of Temer’s key economic reforms – a bill to cap annual government spending at the previous year’s rate of inflation, reports said.
However, the continued political fallout from a corruption probe at state-owned oil company Petrobras is once again threatening to overshadow the president’s efforts to push ahead with his reform agenda.
Late Friday, Brazilian media, citing leaked testimony, reported that a former director of Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht told prosecutors the company made several illegal contributions to Temer’s ruling PMDB party, including payments to Temer while he served as vice president.
Temer’s office strongly denied the reports, issuing a statement that said the donations were all registered with the appropriate authorities.
But the reports came as a new public survey showed the Brazilian president is increasingly unpopular. A poll by Datafolha published on Sunday showed 51% of respondents expressed disapproval of his government, up from 31% in July. Some 63% said they wanted him to step down and new elections held.
Lawmakers are also expected to take up another of Temer’s economic reforms soon. He recently sent a bill Congress proposing broad changes to Brazil’s pension system, including raising the retirement age to 65.