Temer becomes acting president of Brazil

(12 May 2016) In his first words to Brazilians as acting president, Michel Temer said his priority will be reviving Latin America's largest economy. The vice president took on the duties of Brazil's president Thursday after the Senate voted to suspend President Dilma Rousseff pending an impeachment trial. Temer says he is committed to "restoring confidence." The 75-year-old Temer says he wanted his first public appearance as acting president to be a somber and discrete ceremony to "be in line with the times we are living." Temer asked for unity during the hard political times, and promised to create measures that will boost the economy and increase jobs. The acting president also promised to beef up the fight against corruption, and in particular said he would support the sweeping investigation into a mammoth kickback scheme at state oil company Petrobras. Temer himself has been implicated by witnesses in the probe, though he has not been charged. Brazilians worry he will move to weaken an investigation that has ensnared dozens of the country's elite, from top politicians to businessmen. Many people blamed suspended Rousseff for the multibillion-dollar scheme. While she has never implicated herself, much of the alleged graft happened during the 13 years that her Workers' Party was in power, including the last six years while she was president. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...