Brazilian minister pledges not to quit amid corruption accusations

Scandal-plagued Brazilian Labor Minister Carlos Lupi said Tuesday that he does not intend to step down or take a leave despite corruption accusations against his ministry. Lupi met on Tuesday with representatives of his party -- the Democratic Labor Party (PDT) -- to discuss the accusations against his ministry. He said the representatives agreed that both the party and himself have been affected by the accusation. He said "it will take a bullet to get me out of the ministry, and a heavy one, because I'm a big guy," stressing that he has the support of President Dilma Rousseff. On Monday, Lupi denied recent accusations of corruption published by local news magazine Veja, adding that the companies mentioned in the story did not have any contracts with the Labor Ministry. Over the weekend, Veja ran a story accusing one of Lupi's assistants of running a bribery scheme in the PDT's name. According to the magazine, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which had partnerships with the Labor Ministry were forced to pay bribes to keep their contracts. The assistant mentioned in the story has already been suspended, but according to General Prosecutor Roberto Gurgel, no evidence connecting Lupi to any irregularities has been found so far. Lupi is one of the seven cabinet members that have served the previous administration. He has headed the Labor Ministry since 2007. In October, Veja published a story accusing Sports Minister Orlando Silva of heading an embezzlement scheme involving the ministry's partnerships with NGOs. The minister stepped down two weeks later. In the past 10 months, six of President Rousseff's ministers have resigned, five of them linked to corruption accusations.