Antonio Palocci — Former Finance minister to Lula, Chief-of-staff to Rousseff Tuesday, September 27, 2016 Another PT heavyweight arrested in Brazil graft scandalBrazilian Antonio Palocci, a former Finance minister and presidential chief-of-staff in recent Workers’ Party (PT) governments, is escorted by federal police officers after he leaves the Institute of Forensic Science in Curitiba yesterday. Palocci’s arrest brings the investigation of Brazil’s biggest corruption scandal further into the core leadership of the PT. Last week, police detained Guido Mantega, who succeeded Palocci as Lula’s Finance minister and stayed in the post for almost nine years. “This is another nail in the Workers Party coffin,” said Andre César, a political analyst at Brasilia-based public policy consultancy Hold Legislative Advisors. As finance minister from 2003 he continued the anti-inflation and pro-market policies of the previous centrist government, helping calm financial markets’ concerns about Lula's presidency.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald September 27, 2016 03:00 UTC