BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff appointed a member of the Communist Party as the country’s new sports minister yesterday, a day after the previous minister quit in a corruption scandal.
Aldo Rebelo, a congressman with a nationalistic streak, will take up the role at a crucial time as the country prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
He belongs to the Communist Party of Brazil, as does his predecessor Orlando Silva, who resigned on Wednesday after being accused of arranging up to 40 million reais ($23 million) in government contract kickbacks to benefit himself and his party, which is a member of Rouseff’s ruling coalition.
Silva was the sixth minister to leave this year and the fifth who did so over ethics breaches. His departure was an embarrassment for the government as it struggles with delays and cost overruns for the World Cup soccer tournament.
Rebelo, the former head of the chamber of deputies and a key ally of Rousseff’s popular predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is respected among opposition legislators and known for taking on tough tasks.
He will be tasked with smoothing tense relations between the government and soccer authorities and ensuring that infrastructure projects, such as stadiums and transport projects, are ready in time for the global showpiece.
Rousseff has dug her heels in over some of world soccer body FIFA’s requests for the tournament, including that half-price ticket rights for those 65 and older be overruled.
She has also cooled relations with Ricardo Teixeira, the head of Brazil’s soccer federation and the local World Cup organizing committee. He is facing a police investigation and several allegations of corruption.
Rebelo led a congressional inquiry in 2000 into allegations of corruption against the national soccer body that Teixeira leads, though some reports say he now has warmer relations with the Brazilian soccer boss.
The string of ministerial exits in her first year in office has raised questions over Rousseff’s abilities to pick aides, but also cemented a reputation as a stern manager that has lifted her popularity among the growing middle class.
