Brazil's tourism minister resigns amid graft scheme implications

[Judi Lynn]

3. Time: Brazil’s Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month

Brazil’s Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month


Rishi Iyengar @Iyengarish
12:45 AM ET

Tourism chief Henrique Alves quits amid a graft scandal


Brazil’s interim government lost its third cabinet member within the space of a month on Thursday, with the country’s tourism minister resigning shortly after being named in a corruption investigation into state-run oil company Petrobras.

Henrique Alves’ departure comes less than two months before the country hosts the 2016 Olympics. He has denied the allegations against him but said in a letter to interim President Michel Temer that he didn’t want to “create embarrassments or any difficulties for the government,” Reuters reports.

Sergio Machado, a former senator belonging to Temer’s PMDB party and the longtime head of Petrobras’ shipping subsidiary, told investigators that Alves had received kickbacks totaling $450,000. He also implicated Temer himself, detailing an attempt by the 75-year-old leader to solicit illicit campaign funds for his party — an accusation Temer slammed as “irresponsible, ridiculous, mendacious and criminal.”

Alves’ resignation and the controversy surrounding the interim government have further fueled turmoil in the recession-hit South American nation, where recently-ousted President Dilma Rousseff awaits a vote in the Senate to confirm her impeachment over charges of budget manipulation.

http://time.com/4372710/brazil-tourism-minister-resignation-alves-temer-corruption/

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