--- description: Some say the move increases the likelihood that President Dilma Rousseff will be impeached. title: The Biggest Party in Brazil's Ruling Coalition Has Quit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd02e4687ad60945c/69888cf1e20a87c41aa902de/gettyimages-518014032.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [brazil](/tag/brazil/) ## brazil Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Biggest Party in Brazil's Ruling Coalition Has Quit by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 30, 2016 2:07 AM CUT  Brazil's PMDB party lawmakers unanimously vote for leaving the government coalition, at the PMDB's headquarters in Brasilia, on March 29, 2016. Brazil's PMDB party lawmakers unanimously vote for leaving the government coalition, at the PMDB's headquarters in Brasilia, on March 29, 2016.EVARISTO SA—AFP/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 30, 2016 2:07 AM CUT The biggest party in Brazil’s ruling coalition has [elected](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35919248 "undefined") to swiftly detach itself from the government of President Dilma Rousseff in what amounts to a damning vote of no confidence in the [scandal-plagued leader](http://time.com/4268758/dilma-rousseff-brazil-impeachment/ "undefined"). On Tuesday, the leaders of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) voted that the party’s remaining ministers in Rousseff’s cabinet must resign, the BBC reports. Some say the move increases the chances of Rousseff’s impeachment. It is the latest development in a historical political crisis that has reached the highest echelons of Brazil’s government. Members of the country’s opposition have accused Rousseff of exploiting government accounts to bolster her re-election campaign in 2014 — accusations she has denied. Last week, she [insisted](http://time.com/4268758/dilma-rousseff-brazil-impeachment/ "undefined") that she would not step down from office, because she had “committed no crime.” \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35919248 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4275893/brazil-rousseff-pmdb-scandal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4275893/brazil-rousseff-pmdb-scandal/"},"headline":"The Biggest Party in Brazil's Ruling Coalition Has Quit","datePublished":"2016-03-30T02:07:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:18:41.406Z","description":"The vote increases the likelihood that Rousseff will be impeached","url":"https://time.com/4275893/brazil-rousseff-pmdb-scandal/","keywords":["brazil","Dilma Rousseff","Scandal","South America"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd02e4687ad60945c/69888cf1e20a87c41aa902de/gettyimages-518014032.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd02e4687ad60945c/69888cf1e20a87c41aa902de/gettyimages-518014032.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BRAZIL-CORRUPTION-IMPEACHMENT-PMDB","caption":"BRAZIL-CORRUPTION-IMPEACHMENT-PMDB","creditText":"EVARISTO SA—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/brazil/","name":"brazil"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4275893/brazil-rousseff-pmdb-scandal/","name":"The Biggest Party in Brazil's Ruling Coalition Has Quit"}}]}] ```