Amid political setbacks in Congress, new allegations of past wrongdoings involving the federal tax service and a protracted deterioration of macroeconomic conditions, the outlook for implementing adjustment measures aimed at restoring fiscal balance and policy credibility was significantly improved by president Dilma Rousseff's decision on April 7 to empower vice-president Michel Temer to lead the fractious government coalition in Congress.

An experienced politician, Temer is president of PMDB, the Workers' Party increasingly assertive coalition partner. The move, coupled with a careful audit of Petrobras' balance sheet expected to be completed by the end of April, should improve the chances of the suddenly unpopular Rousseff government to navigate what is still a very complex political and economic picture.

On April 17th, the Brazil Institute will convene a panel of experts to assess Brazil's economic medium outlook as the team led by finance minister Joaquim Levy seeks to secure congressional approval of unpopular austerity measures while preparing new initiatives to shorten the ongoing recession and restore confidence in the government's ability to recover from a crisis seen by analysts as the most serious in two decades.
 

Photos courtesy of Blog do Planalto, Agencia Brasil and Michel Temer