Brazilian Agriculture Minister Rossi Resigns After Corruption Allegations

Brazilian Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi resigned after corruption allegations, the fourth top official to leave President Dilma Rousseff’s government in less than three months.

Rossi, from the Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, resigned yesterday after Veja magazine reported on July 30, Aug. 6, and 13 that there was evidence of kickbacks and embezzlement in the ministry. Milton Ortolan, the ministry’s executive secretary, resigned Aug. 6 because of the reports.

“During the past 30 days, I have faced daily a series of false accusations, without any proof,” Rossi said in a letter presented to announce his departure. “Finally, they started attacking innocent people, my friends, my family members.”

“I regret the minister couldn’t count on the principle of presumed innocence,” Rousseff said in a statement distributed to reporters in Brasilia yesterday. Rousseff named Deputy Minister Jose Gerardo Fontelles as acting agriculture minister.

Nelson Jobim, also from PMDB, was forced to resign as defense minister Aug. 4 after criticizing members of Rousseff’s government. Last month, Transportation Minister Alfredo Nascimento stepped down after Veja reported kickbacks and overbilling at the ministry, which has an annual budget the size of Paraguay’s $18 billion economy.

Rousseff lost a key ally June 7 when her chief of staff, Antonio Palocci, resigned following reports in the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper he used his position to enrich himself by serving as an intermediary for companies doing business with the government. Palocci at the time said the accusations were “baseless.”