--- description: He is the third member of the interim government to go in a month. The timing is inopportune, with the Rio Olympics beginning in August. title: Brazil's Just Lost Its Third Cabinet Minister in a Month image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ed1de48d4d7eca6/6988985c428a9e1648cd3162/rtsgfgr.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 # Brazil's Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 17, 2016 4:45 AM CUT  Brazilian Minister of Tourism Henrique Eduardo Alves (R) speaks with Presidential Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha during ministerial meeting to discuss the 2016 Rio Olympics, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, June 7, 2016. Brazilian Minister of Tourism Henrique Eduardo Alves (R) speaks with Presidential Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha during ministerial meeting to discuss the 2016 Rio Olympics, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, June 7, 2016.Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 17, 2016 4:45 AM CUT Brazil’s interim government lost its third cabinet member within the space of a month on Thursday, with the country’s tourism minister [resigning](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-resignation-idUSKCN0Z22JX "undefined") shortly after being named in a corruption investigation into state-run oil company Petrobras. Henrique Alves’ departure comes less than two months before the country hosts the 2016 [Olympics](http://time.com/money/4368573/rio-olympics-travel-deals-zika/ "undefined"). He has denied the allegations against him but said in a letter to interim President Michel Temer that he didn’t want to “create embarrassments or any difficulties for the government,” Reuters reports. Sergio Machado, a former senator belonging to Temer’s PMDB party and the longtime head of Petrobras’ shipping subsidiary, told investigators that Alves had received kickbacks totaling $450,000\. He also implicated Temer himself, detailing an attempt by the 75-year-old leader to solicit illicit campaign funds for his party — an accusation Temer slammed as “irresponsible, ridiculous, mendacious and criminal.” Alves’ resignation and the controversy surrounding the interim government have further fueled turmoil in the recession-hit South American nation, where recently-ousted President [Dilma Rousseff](http://time.com/4361090/brazil-dilma-rousseff-michel-temer-impeachment/ "undefined") awaits a vote in the Senate to confirm her impeachment over charges of budget manipulation. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-resignation-idUSKCN0Z22JX "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4372710/brazil-tourism-minister-resignation-alves-temer-corruption/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4372710/brazil-tourism-minister-resignation-alves-temer-corruption/"},"headline":"Brazil's Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month","datePublished":"2016-06-17T04:45:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:40:28.070Z","description":"Tourism chief Henrique Alves quits amid a graft scandal","url":"https://time.com/4372710/brazil-tourism-minister-resignation-alves-temer-corruption/","keywords":["brazil","Dilma Rousseff","corruption","President"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ed1de48d4d7eca6/6988985c428a9e1648cd3162/rtsgfgr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ed1de48d4d7eca6/6988985c428a9e1648cd3162/rtsgfgr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Brazilian Minister of Tourism Henrique Eduardo Alves speaks with Presidential Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha during ministerial meeting to discuss the 2016 Rio Olympics, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia","caption":"Brazilian Minister of Tourism Henrique Eduardo Alves speaks with Presidential Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha during ministerial meeting to discuss the 2016 Rio Olympics, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia","creditText":"Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters","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/4372710/brazil-tourism-minister-resignation-alves-temer-corruption/","name":"Brazil's Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month"}}]}] ```