Roundup: Coalition party's exit opens troubled path to Rousseff's impeachment

The decision by the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) on Tuesday to break up with the ruling Workers' Party (PT) is forcing the government to try to stay in power while staving off the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff's chief of staff Jaques Wagner said that the PMDB's exit came at the right time to allow a reshuffle of the government's coalition.

The PMDB's decision could see up to 500 top government officials leave, giving the PT some bargaining chips to play with when trying to attract smaller parties into the fold.

Now, the government's immediate priority will be to secure the allegiance of 172 lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies, or one-third of the total members, to avoid the impeachment.

The government currently holds 80 votes, including those from the PT, the Brazilian Communist Party, and the left-wing Socialism and Freedom Party.

On the other side, the PMDB and its allies will have to seek 342 votes for the impeachment process to be approved and passed on to the Senate.

The PMDB can count on up to 120 votes, including those from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and the Democrats (DEM), though internal divisions within the PMDB could threaten the possibility.

Besides, the Social Democratic Party told its 31 lawmakers that they could vote as they wish. The Progressive Party's 49 votes are trending toward the impeachment, and the Republican Party, with 40 votes, has not made its stance clear.

Although the unpopularity of Rousseff makes her impeachment appealing to many, the government can offer real power at once while the opposition ranks can only do so in a delayed fashion.

The PT has been very active in trumpeting that Rousseff has been charged with no crime for the impeachment, saying this is an attempt at a coup.

Rallies organized by the Unified Workers' Central and other social unions scheduled for Thursday will seek to show the civil society's support for the current government.

Meanwhile, the reaction of PMDB cabinet ministers showed that division still exists within the party.

Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu, Science and Technology Minister Celso Pansera, and Health Minister Manoel Castro said Tuesday that they would not follow their party's decision and would stay in the cabinet.

However, Mines and Energy Minister Eduardo Braga, Minister of Ports Helder Barbalho, Civil Aviation Minister Mauro Lopes are set to resign.

The PMDB's exist, a declaration of war against its former coalition partner, is also seen as the party leader Michel Temer's thinly veiled attempt to take over the presidency if Rousseff falls. Temer will remain as vice president, arguing that this was his duty to the electorate.

Expectations run high that the Chamber of Deputies is set to vote by April 20. If it ratifies this process, the Senate will have to vote within 10 days.

If the decision is ratified by the senators, Rousseff will be suspended for 180 days while the formal impeachment process is carried through and during this period Temer would temporarily assume the presidency.

The latest public opinion polls showed that around 70 percent of the Brazilian population would favor a dismissal of the current government, due to deep anger at what are seen as failed economic policies and the ongoing recession.

Besides, a CNI/Ibope poll released Wednesday found that Rousseff's approval ratings stood at just 10 percent in March, with 69 percent now actively disapproving of her management.

Asked why they feel she should be impeached, supporters of the move pointed to Lula's appointment to the cabinet (31 percent), deep public unrest (17 percent) and the Petrobras corruption ring (13 percent) as the main reasons. Endi