Brazil speaker, ex-president charged in Petrobras corruption

As Gulherme Boulos, representative for Brazil’s Homeless Workers Movement (MTST), said his group is not blindly supportive of President Rousseff, but does not view replacing her with right-wing alternatives as a viable solution.

Cunha has persuaded Congress to pass a raft of watered-down bills that would have helped the government increase revenues and improve its accounts.

Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets of Sao Paulo and joined an anti-government protest Sunday, calling for an “impeachment” of the government of President Dilma Rousseff and the leftist Workers’ Party rule amid corruption and economic troubles besetting Brazil.

The corruption scandal centres on oil company Petroleo Brasileiro, as Petrobras is formally known.

Last week, Rousseff sought to build political bridges by agreeing with the Senate leader to a new set of market-friendly reforms, even if this took her still further from her socialist roots.

The measures includes fast-tracking environmental permits, simplifying taxes and bolstering guarantees in contracts with the state.

“They’re looting Brazil, stealing everything”, said Jorge Portugal, 63, who is retired from a job in marketing.

The upheaval is already hurting businesses.

She also needs business on her side – throughout Brazil’s turbulent years of democracy, the business elite has traditionally been a power behind the throne. But the left wing Party for Socialism and Freedom (PSOL) warned that Rousseff’s supporters were trying to turn them into pro government rallies. He is an outspoken critic of President Dilma Rousseff.

Though during her first term Rousseff bestowed dozens of billion of dollars in cheap loans for Brazilian corporations to expand overseas, her involvement in the contracts of electricity producers and imposition of low rates of return in road projects angered many executives.

“Her fragility could pave the way for a modernization drive that brings forward measures that have been dormant for a long time”, said Leonardo Barreto, head of political consultancy Mosaico. She also faces legal challenges over whether her campaign received illicit contributions and if her government improperly used money from state banks to cover budget shortfalls.

Besides, Solange Almeida, former deputy and current mayor of Rio Bonito near Rio de Janeiro, and Pedro Paulo Leoni Ramos, former minister of strategic affairs, were also charged.