Dilma Rousseff Government

BRAZIL POLITICS - Report 24 Sep 2015 by Murillo de Aragão and Cristiano Noronha

The fear around the possibility of the opening of an impeachment process has caused President Dilma Rousseff to negotiate the ministerial changes directly with the PMDB in the House of Representatives.

The negotiations are taking place with party leader Leonardo Picciani (RJ), linked to the President of the House, Eduardo Cunha (RJ). Dialogue with both has significantly increased in the past few days. The President is also listening very closely to the leadership of the PMDB in the Senate.

The PMDB could take over the Ministry of Health and Infrastructure, which would be created as a result of a merger between other ministries. But this negotiation wouldn’t necessarily solve the relationship problems between government and the party. Some ministers of the PMDB do not want to lose their current positions.

Dilma is also speaking to former President Lula about finding a way to increase the PMDB’s participation in the ministerial team. In addition to finding a formula that minimizes tension with party congressmen and senators, there is the challenge of convincing the PT, which is not willing to open space for the ally; Lula's party would be the main loser after the reform.

The worsening climate of Operation Lava Jato (Carwash Operation) and the fear of impeachment has forced Dilma to work in a more coordinated fashion with Eduardo Cunha. The President of the House reportedly informed Rousseff that he would reject the 22 impeachment requests. The reports are ready.

Another object of the reform is to prevent the PMDB from leaving the government’s allied base, in November. In the view of the Planalto Palace, it would make no sense for the party to accept new ministries, and after two months decide to abandon the government.

There are still several doubts surrounding the strategic movements made by President Dilma. The PMDB remains disunited. Vice President Michel Temer will not work on the day-to-day political coordination. Renan Calheiros and Eduardo Cunha have no common agenda. The ministers of the party who are leaving the government could open space for dissatisfaction.
At least in the short term, the movements of Dilma in the PMDB could create additional difficulties for the opening of an impeachment process.

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register