Raymond Colitt, Bloomberg Business, 7/21/2015
If Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff thought it was tough imposing austerity measures in the first half of the year, she may be in for some unpleasant surprises in the second.
She has lost support from Senate Chief Renan Calheiros and his lower-house counterpart, Eduardo Cunha, amid growing discontent with a recession and a corruption probe into legislators. Calheiros, who likened Brazil’s atmosphere to a horror movie with no end in sight, and Cunha are pushing for inquiries into alleged wrongdoing at federal institutions and have delayed votes on key bills designed to raise revenue.
Growing dissent risks further undermining a president who is already struggling to deal with the country’s biggest economic and political crisis in a quarter century. While an outright revolt against her authority is not yet in the cards, the unrest makes it harder for her to push through an austerity agenda deemed crucial to avoiding a credit downgrade.
