By Patricia Maresch, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian agriculture minister Wagner Rossi submitted his resignation on Wednesday, following corruption allegations among his top advisers. “I am leaving the government and I thank [President] Dilma [Rousseff] for her confidence,” he said. The executive secretary at the Agriculture Ministry stepped down earlier this month.
In his resignation letter Rossi said he was the target of “a hailstorm of false accusations”, responding to reports that a lobbyist allegedly paid bribes and influenced public tenders in order to favor certain companies with Rossi’s Ministry.
Rossi is the fourth minister to leave Rousseff’s eight-month-old administration. Last week the Minister of Tourism resigned, just before that defense minister Jobim was fired after publicly criticizing the administration. The former transportation minister resigned in July and Rousseff’s chief of staff stepped down in June, both amid corruption allegations.
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