Brazil's agriculture minister resigns amid corruption allegations

English.news.cn 2011-08-18 13:37:22

BRASILIA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi resigned Wednesday evening amid corruption allegations under his watch, plunging the country's seven-month-old government further into trouble.

As the fourth minister to step down from President Dilma Rousseff's cabinet, Rossi submitted his resignation after his ministry was accused of corruption.

The scandal started a month ago when former president of the National Supply Company (Conab) Oscar Juca Neto said there were "bandits" in the ministry and accused Rossi of participating in corruption schemes.

The agriculture ministry's employees were later reported to act as lobbyists for the private sector to help businesses get contracts, which forced the ministry's Executive Secretary Milton Ortolan to step down earlier this month.

Local media also revealed that Rossi and one of his sons traveled on several occasions in a plane belonging to an agribusiness company.

But in his resignation letter, Rossi accused the media of making up stories and starting an "insidious" campaign against him with no evidence.

"I responded to each allegation with supporting documents that the press ignored. Even fully contested, the accusations were repeated in the news for days as if they had been proven to be true," he said.

The Federal Police launched an investigation this week into the allegations, including bribery and tender manipulation.

So far Rousseff has lost four top officials since she took office on Jan. 1.

Her former Chief of Staff Antonio Palocci resigned in June, and former Transport Minister Alfredo Nascimento quit in July, both amid corruption allegations. Her long-serving Defense Minister Nelson Jobim was fired earlier this month after publicly criticizing other senior officials.

The departure of cabinet members and recent signs of an economic slowdown are spelling trouble for Rousseff. These factors are likely to deepen the rift between her and some top legislators, who believe her government is in disarray.

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