Roundup: Rousseff reshuffles cabinet, cuts public spending to gain support

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Friday unveiled a cabinet shakeup to increase the presence of allied parties in her coalition government and bolster support in congress.

It was seen as the president's ultimate move to muffle criticism from the opposition.

Rousseff has been having some trouble with the coalition, especially the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the government's largest allied party.

The PMDB was divided in its support for the government, and by giving it more say, Rousseff hoped to appease some sectors and shore up support against the opposition, which had been calling repeatedly for her impeachment.

As part of the government downsizing agenda, the president reduced the number of ministries from 39 to 31, mainly by merging several smaller ministries into larger ones.

Earlier this week, Rousseff dismissed health and education ministers. The Labor and the Social Security ministries were merged, and the Fishery Ministry returned to its previous status as part of the Agriculture Ministry. The Human Rights, Women's Affairs and Racial Equality ministries were merged into the Citizenship Ministry.

Another large merger created the Government Secretariat, which had a ministry status and was formed by the four former agencies of Institutional Relations, General Secretariat, Small Businesses Secretariat and Institutional Security.

The president's Workers' Party (PT) now has nine offices in the cabinet, followed by the PMDB, which had seven.

No changes were made to her economic team, which was implementing belt-tightening measures with which the government hoped to be able to overcome the economic slump.

On the cabinet reshuffle, Rousseff defended her decisions, which were criticized by some sectors of her own party.

"We aim to update the government's political base by seeking a majority, which ensures governability. It is a legitimate measure by a coalition government, and as such, everything has been done openly," she said.

The president said the new cabinet would bring about cohesion and encourage dialogue, adding that the reduction in the number of cabinet offices aims to make the government more flexible and professional.

In order to reduce public spending, 3,000 government posts will be cut. All outsourced contracts will be reviewed and a permanent commission on state reform has been created to find more ways to increase government efficiency.

In addition, the president announced a 20 percent-cut in government expenses, and imposed tougher restrictions on ministry expenses for phone bills, plane travels and hotel stays.

Rousseff announced her own salary, her vice president's and that of top aides would be trimmed by 10 percent.

Rousseff reaffirmed her commitment to tackle the economic crisis in Brazil, which was currently facing a recession and prospects of a major deficit in the 2016 federal budget.

"Even though deep budget cuts and expense reductions have been made, I want to say that we will continue to implement essential policies for the people," she said. Endi