Brazil's sports minister resigned Wednesday amid a corruption probe that has roiled the scandal-plagued administration of President Dilma Rousseff and renewed concerns over Brazil's preparations to host the World Cup of soccer and the Olympic Games later this decade.
Orlando Silva, the minister, stepped down following allegations, first disclosed in a Brazilian newsweekly this month, that public funds for ministry social projects were kicked back to the lawmaker and numerous associates in exchange for contracts to carry out social programs.
Silva, according to the reports, allegedly received money himself in the ministry parking lot and was aware of millions of dollars worth of similar payments to Communist Party colleagues. The party is part of a restive coalition that supports Rousseff's ruling Workers Party in exchange for cabinet positions and other senior appointments.
Silva, who has denied any wrongdoing, weathered the storm until Tuesday, when Brazil's Supreme Court said it would probe the allegations. Rousseff's request for Silva's resignation marks something of an about-face for Rousseff, who last Friday met with Silva to discuss the allegations and later issued a statement of support on his behalf.
A government official familiar with the discussion said Rousseff, who had just returned from a weeklong trip abroad at the time of the meeting, needed more time to assess the allegations and consider possible successors.
For a country proud of its recent growth and ascendant role in the global economy, the scandal raises doubts about its ability to pull off two major events designed to showcase its success -- the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympics. Planning for both events, especially the World Cup, is already considered to be lagging, hobbled by cost overruns and the constraints of Brazil's creaky infrastructure.
Silva is the sixth cabinet official to resign from Rousseff's cabinet since June -- five of them amid separate and unrelated corruption probes.
While corruption is a day-to-day problem in the politics of Latin America's biggest country, the new scandal has once more called into question Rousseff's ability to manage her unwieldy allies and focus on the major reforms required to ensure that Brazil's recently fast-growing economy does not slow more.
