Brazilian minister quits in case that implicates president
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Brazilian minister has resigned as part of a growing scandal that implicates President Michel Temer.
Former Culture Minister Marcelo Calero has told federal police that Temer's legislative affairs minister Geddel Vieira Lima pressured him to allow construction of a luxury building in a historic preservation area in the city of Salvador. Lima had bought a unit in the planned development.
Calero says Temer himself suggested that he use a method to avoid the normal overnight process for such a building.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Temer's spokesman said Thursday night that the president simply intervened to arbitrate a dispute between cabinet members.
In his resignation letter, Lima says the accusations of wrongdoing are merely "interpretations." He says he's stepping down because his family was suffering.