Weekly Report - 02 August 2012 (WR-12-30)

There are two major political obstacles for President Dilma Rousseff and the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) ahead of October’s municipal elections. One is the inconveniently timed supreme court trial to examine the mensalão, the massive congressional bribery scheme dating back to 2005 that almost toppled the PT’s first-ever president Lula da Silva (2003-2010). Three former Lula ministers, led by the former minister of the presidency and PT baron José Dirceu, along with several members of the PT’s directorate including its former treasurer Duda Mendonça, are among those under scrutiny. This is one factor that the micro-manager Rousseff simply cannot control. The trial began on 2 August and the court is due to issue its verdict in mid September, just weeks ahead of the municipals. The other obstacle is public sector strikes, with some 350,000 public sector workers still on the picket lines in early August.

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