Weekly Report - 14 July 2011 (WR-11-28)

The presidential palace confirmed the interim transport minister, Paulo Sérgio Passos, as permanent, in open defiance of the allied Partido da República (PR) on 11 July. Passos replaces Alfredo Nascimento (of the PR), who resigned last week over allegations that he oversaw a major corruption ring at the ministry involving kickbacks from private contractors for public works contracts. Rousseff had recently complained that the ministry, which has been controlled by the PR since 2003, was going through budget funds at an alarming rate.