REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

The resignation of Geddel Vieira Lima from the key post of minister in charge of relations with Congress - along with accusations that Temer himself also lobbied Culture Minister Marcelo Calero to approve the luxury development - sent Brazil’s currency and stocks lower. Geddel Vieira Lima has fallen anyway despite Temer’s best efforts to keep him on board, but the president was not the only person in Brasília this week displaying just how out of touch Brazil’s political class has become. The government’s chief secretary, and one of Mr Temer’s closest collaborators, Mr Vieira Lima had bought an apartment in the luxury La Vue development off the plans and was furious that the department within the culture ministry charged with protecting Brazil’s historical patrimony had then embargoed it. To back up his claims he said he had recordings of their conversation

In a meeting the day before he resigned Mr Calero said he was “cornered” by Mr Temer, who told him the the dispute over La Vue was creating “operational difficulties” in his office because Mr Vieira Lima was “pretty irritated” over the matter.
Brazilian Minister Geddel Vieira Lima resigns following allegations he and President Michel Temer pressured a fellow cabinet minister into approving a real estate project.