Agriculture Minister Accused: Daily

By Sarah de Sainte Croix, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Yesterday morning Brazil’s Agriculture Minister, Wagner Rossi, released a statement refuting fresh corruption allegations made by Veja Magazine, saying, “This isn’t journalism. It’s reputation assassination.” President Rousseff later phoned Rossi to confirm her confidence in the beleaguered minister.

The trouble began on Monday when the magazine accused members of the Agriculture Ministry of diverting public funds for private gain. Police seized Rossi’s computers in order to rule out his involvement.

Veja’s latest accusations focus on Rossi’s proximity to past and present scandals, calling him, “A collector of problems”.

Last month Veja magazine also unearthed alleged irregularities in the Ministry of Transport which led to the resignation of 17 department officials.

Read more (in Portuguese).

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