Jair Bolsonaro risks losing the support of a strategic ally

Brazil's lower house speaker threatened to withdraw support for president Jair Bolsonaro, after another episode of friendly fire, thus intensifying political tensions, just a day after the arrest of the former head of state.

The shine of the Speaker of the Lower House, Rodrigo Maia, came after being criticized by the Minister of Justice, Sergio Moroand Carlos BolsonaroLocal media reported Friday that one of the president's sons had tried to delay the adoption of strict anti-corruption legislation. "Why is the president of the lower house so nervous?"Carlos wrote on social networks last night.

Earlier Thursday, the former president Michel Temer and former minister Wellington Moreira FrancoMaia's father-in-law was arrested for corruption.

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Maia is one of the closest allies of the government and a strong supporter of a pension reform that investors deem essential to reducing a huge budget deficit. This is not the first time that a fight has been made public within the Bolsonaro administration. This time, the war of words has fueled a new wave of anxiety on the Brazilian market, the real fell more than 2% in morning trading, the worst among the major currencies.

Local markets had already fallen on Thursday when investors perceived Temer's arrest as a distraction from efforts to push pension overhaul.