The Brazilian Democratic Party (PMDB) has unanimously announced that is is quitting the coalition government of embattled President Dilma Rousseff. Rousseff currently cancelled a foreign trip as she faces a difficult battle to halt impeachment proceedings against her in the Brazil Congress.
The PMDB ordered it's six members in Rousseff's cabinet to resign or face ethics proceedings. Rousseff on her part is a member of the Workers Party (WP) and is alleged to have increased governments spending and broken budget rules in the run-up to her 2014 re-election . If Rousseff is successfully impeached , Vice-President and leader of the PMDB , Michel Temer will automatically take over government .
Rousseff is also fighting corruption allegations as regards the country's oil company Petrobras <PETR4.SA>, and Brazil's worst recession in decades, which prompted more than one million protesters to protest in Brazil last month.
Rousseff is Brazil's first female President and might also become the first Brazilian president to be impeached since president Fernando Collor de Mello in 1992.
The Brazilian economy declined by 3.8 per cent in 2015 and is currently experiencing it's worst two- year recession in a century, according to economists, which is in sharp contrast to it's ranking as one of the worlds most promising developing countries along with China, Malaysia and Thailand just three years ago.
The withdrawal of PMDB which had 68 Lower House Members out of a total 171 members means Rousseff's WP (58 members) must secure the votes of it's smaller coalition partners as Rousseff requires one-third of the Lower house votes to halt impeachment proceedings.
Even if Rousseff halts impeachment proceedings against her in the Lower house, the Senate will in May, have to vote by a simple majority whether to put the president on trial, which means she would be automatically suspended though temporarily, allowing Vice-President and the PMDB Leader (Michel Temer) to move in on an acting basis.
Brazil even with all these political struggles is currently experiencing the deadly epidemic Zikos virus and at the same time preparing to host the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the summer, after hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014.
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