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."
Hundreds of troops were deployed late Wednesday following a day of clashes between police and protesters demanding Temer's ouster. 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 considered 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.
Now, he is facing allegations that he endorsed of paying hush money to a former lawmaker jailed for corruption. Brazil's highest court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption after a recording seemed to capture his approval of the bribe. Temer denies wrongdoing.
Many Brazilians want him out one way or another: They are calling for him to resign or be impeached. The images of troops patrolling the nation's capital only further ratcheted up the pressure on Temer. One lawmaker called it excessive and hoped it would only last a day. Another criticized the president for using the military to prop up his government.
Temer defended the decision as necessary to restore order and within his rights.
"Order was restored, the respect of life and order was restored," Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said in a news conference. He also countered accusations that the move was highly unusual, noting that the military had been called to patrol the streets of cities 29 times since 2010.
With Brazil deeply divided and a political crisis deepening, opposition lawmakers have submitted requests for Temer's impeachment. Later Thursday, the respected Brazilian bar association plans to submit another such request — a move that carries symbolic weight since the association is not partisan.