Troops pull out of Brazil capital; president under pressure

[Judi Lynn]

Eraldo Peres and Sarah Dilorenzo, Associated Press
Updated 2:10 pm, Thursday, May 25, 2017


BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's president on Thursday cancelled an order to deploy the military to the streets of the capital after criticism that the move was excessive and merely an effort to hold onto power amid increasing calls for his resignation.

In a decree published in the Official Diary, President Michel Temer revoked the order issued a day earlier, "considering the halt to acts of destruction and violence and the subsequent reestablishment of law and order." On Thursday afternoon, soldiers began to leave their posts in Brasilia, according to the Defense Ministry.
 
The troops were deployed late Wednesday following a day of clashes between police and protesters demanding Temer's ouster amid allegations against him of corruption. Fires broke out in two ministries and several were evacuated. Protesters also set fires in the streets and vandalized government buildings. Images in national media, meanwhile, appeared to show police officers firing weapons, and the Secretariat of Public Security said it was investigating. In all 49, people were injured, including one by a bullet.
 
Temer's popularity has been in a freefall since he took office a little more than a year ago after his predecessor was impeached and removed. Some Brazilians consider him illegitimate because of the way he came to power, and his efforts to pass a series of economic reforms to cap the budget, loosen labor laws and reduce pension benefits have only made him even more unpopular. In addition, several of his advisers have been linked to Brazil's massive corruption investigation, known as Operation Car Wash.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Troops-guard-Brazil-federal-buildings-amid-11172059.php