In a deepening political crisis that shows no sign of stopping, things just got a lot tougher for embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
As the threat of impeachment looms for Rousseff, Brazil’s largest political party announced Tuesday that it’s pulling out of her coalition government.
It’s unclear whether Vice President Michel Temer, the party’s president, will resign.
But no matter what happens next, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party’s decision is bad news for Rousseff.
The Brazilian lower house is in the process of analyzing an impeachment bid launched by Speaker of the House Eduardo Cunha.
The PMDB’s departure from the ruling coalition could leave Rousseff short of allies if impeachment proceedings move forward.
The party’s second-in-command, Sen. Romero Juca, announced the decision after a party meeting Tuesday.
“It is a historic position of the PMDB, that is returning to its origins, finding its traditions and taking a position in favor of Brazil and the Brazilian people,” he said.
It wasn’t long before #RenunciaTemer (Temer Quit) became a trending topic online, as the number of social media posts pushing the vice president to resign surged.
Rousseff hasn’t spoken publicly since the PMDB announced its decision. But she canceled a trip to the United States, the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency reported.
The Brazilian leader had been scheduled to travel to Washington on Wednesday to participate in a nuclear summit hosted by the White House.