Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
Geddel Vieira Lima, a Cabinet minister in Brazilian President Michel Temer’s new government, resigned Friday amid allegations the president used his influence in a bid to help Lima with a property deal. Lima’s resignation comes after another Cabinet member who recently left, former Culture Minister Marcelo Calero, said Temer had pressured him to move ahead with construction on a luxury apartment complex despite the project being halted over preservation laws. Lima, who had invested in a unit in that building, has denied any wrongdoing. A key member of the Cabinet, he served as the government secretary in charge of relations with Congress. Temer was reportedly planning to fire Lima over the allegations, but Lima beat him to it, according to Reuters, which cited a presidential aide.