After new accusations against Rousseff's Minister of Agricuture, Wagner Rossi finally resigned. He is the fourth minister, all of them "inherited" from Lula, to leave Rousseff's cabinet since she was elected. His resignation could suggest that the President is staying the course and will keep cleaning up the higher reaches of the government and is in fact read in that way by The Economist and many Brazilian commentators.
I am not convinced. She is doing her best, but looks increasingly hostage to her allies in Congress, particularly the PMDB, and vulnerable within the PT, many of whose leaders feel that her continuing campaign gives the impression that the Lula government was corrupt. She openly left the selection of Rossi's replacement to her Vice-President, Michel Temer, who is the PMDB leader, not a strong demonstration of force and autonomy...
Photo Jonathan Blair
