More problems in Teresina

It's reported by the Folha de Sao Paulo that the PT governor of Piaui, Wellington Dias, has sent his reform package to the state assembly to be voted on. My one or two readers will recall in previous weeks that the state was facing difficulties, being unable to pay state workers and owing the federal government millions which it's trying to renegotiate.

Dias proposes cutting 10 ministries and reducing the political appointees in the state civil service by 20% - and according to his point man, Ricardo Pontes, this won't affect the wider civil service.

However, trouble already seems to be brewing. State deputies are already grumbling about the package, on both the government and opposition sides. One PFL member is alleging there doesn't seem to be any forethought or planning to the process.

And Wellington Dias doesn't look like he can count on the support of his brethen in the PT either. As I suggested the other week, the impact of Piaui's crisis could stretch beyond the state capital, Teresina. According to the Diario do Povo in Piaui, the federal government is not pleased at the goings-on. The newspaper notes that in the Fax Brasilia column of the weekly magazine Isto E reports irritation in the Planalto that the PT candidate for mayor is getting hammered in the polls. And they're annoyed with Wellington Dias too, for increasing the size of the state and its payroll - in other words, bringing the problem onto himself.

This looks like it's going to run and run.