Rousseff Aide Hints at Sports Ministry Shakeup

(ATR) George Hilton may be on his way out as sports minister.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff Jaques Wagner told media on March 23 that Hilton would be resigning amid the political turmoil in the country.

This is the second reported resignationfor Hilton, after his party, the Brazilian Republican Party, said in a statement on March 18 that Hilton had resigned. Hilton quickly released a statement saying he switched parties to stay in his position as minister.

The sports ministry has not confirmed Hilton’s potential resignation as of this morning, and requests for comment from the ministry were not returned.

Facing an impeachment challenge from the Brazilian legislature, local media suggest that President Rousseff could be shuffling her cabinet to prevent a vote against her. Wagner also suggested that sports ministry national secretary Ricardo Leyser could be appointed to replace Hilton when the resignation is official.

"[Leyser] is the guy who has followed the whole Olympic process," Wagner said, reported by Brazilian media.

Leyser, a member of the Brazilian Communist Party, has been in the sports ministry since 2003. He has been a part of preparations for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio, as well as the 2016 Olympic bid and preparations. He was reassigned within the ministry in December 2015, but still remained heavily involved in the Olympic project after the move.

Around the Rings reached out to Leyser to get information on Wagner’s suggestion, but did not receive a response.

On March 19, a source close to the situation in the sports ministry told ATR that any potential reshuffling of the ministry would not affect Olympic preparations at this stage.

"The minister is a political position," the source said. "There are no changes in technical bodies. Everybody involved in Olympic preparations will remain in the same position."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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