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Brazil's president tries to stem political crisis

Xinhua, August 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff went into crisis management mode over the weekend as a poor economy and corruption scandal weaken her government's grip on power, local media said Monday.

Rousseff met Sunday with members of her cabinet and congressional leaders belonging to the ruling coalition of left- leaning parties to discuss the crisis of confidence in her government and map out a strategy.

According to the daily Correio Braziliense, Social Communications Minister Edinho Silva, who participated in the meeting, said Rousseff has acknowledged the crisis and is betting that dialogue will help overcome widespread discontent stemming from economic belt-tightening measures and an ongoing investigation into graft that has led to dozens of arrests.

The president will hold a series of meetings this week to shore up support against an increasingly vocal opposition, and even criticism from within her own ranks, ahead of a large anti- government protest planned for Sunday, said Silva,

Rousseff, a member of the Workers' Party (PT), was to meet with senators later Monday as part of this effort. During the week, she will meet individually with congressional leaders from allied parties, including the Democratic Labor Party (PDT), which recently announced it was exiting the ruling coalition.

Brazilian political commentator Kennedy Alencar, reporting on the political crisis, said there was some tension between Rousseff and her vice president, Michel Temer, at the Sunday meeting.

Temer is a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party ( PMDB), the largest party in the coalition, and certain factions within the party have made their anger with the executive branch very public.

According to Alencar, Temer made a speech at the meeting criticizing political intrigue. He also denied ambitions of running for the presidency, in reference to rumors circulating among members of the PT.

Due to its size and influence, the PMDB is widely regarded as one of the government's most pressing problems. House of Representatives President Eduardo Cunha, one of PMDB's most prominent leaders, recently announced he was cutting all ties with the government.

Rousseff has ruled out a cabinet shakeup, though she is under pressure to reduce the number of ministerial posts (currently 39) to cut expenses, said Silva. Endite