Beirut-Lebanese people are following with concern and pride every step taken by the Lebanese Michel Temer to take over the Brazilian presidency next month after impeaching the current President Dilma Rousseff, who has been accused of being involved in corruption cases.
Yet, ironically, the Lebanese people are preparing to celebrate the victory of the Lebanese Temer who will rule the fifth country in the world in terms of space and population at the time when the Lebanese Cabinet is incapable of electing a president due to political disputes among its politicians and deputies from Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, who refused to attend the 38 sessions they have been called to over the past two years in order to fill the Presidential vacancy.
After the Brazilian Parliament voted on Sunday to impeach the President Dilma Rousseff, everyone is looking forward for the Senate’s final decision that is supposed to be issued regarding trialing Rousseff for breaking Brazil’s budget laws. If she is found guilty, Temer will fulfill the remainder of her term, which runs through the end of 2018.
On the other hand, and since Temer becoming a president is almost settled, the preparations have started in Lebanon to celebrate the occasion, and precisely in his hometown Btaaboura in Koura District. A public park has also been established and will be named after him in addition to the street that holds his name and the memorial of his father there.
Also, the Mayor Bassam Barbar confirmed that celebrations will take place in the town the moment Temer becomes a president.
Barbar told Asharq Al-Awsat that he is following the updates and receiving information from Temer’s Lebanese friends and his Brazilian Head of the office. He also noted that the Brazilian TV will visit Btaaboura on Friday in order to take a look on all the preparations, and it will cover the celebrations live when Temer takes over the presidency.
Barbar said that people in his hometown are so proud and excited with one of them becoming Brazil’s President.
Temer holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the Law Faculty of the University of São Paulo and a doctorate from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. He served as State prosecutor and twice as State Secretary for Public Security, in both capacities working in São Paulo. He served for six consecutive terms as Federal Deputy for the state of São Paulo in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.
In 2015, Michel Temer presented a document with proposals for economic growth drafted by his Brazilian Democratic Movement Party and was entitled “A Bridge to the Future”.
The paper criticized the government for indulging in spending “excesses” in recent years, which led to a “fiscal imbalance”. The “current deep recession”, according to the authors, began in 2014 and should last into 2016. “Considering the situation, we seem to be headed for a long period of stagnation, or even a decline in per capita income.”
In 2016, Temer announced the withdrawal of his party from supporting the government, thus starting the journey of ousting Rousseff, who publicly accused him of plotting against her in order to take over her post.