Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s new chief of staff pick will help win him favor with the powerful centrist coalition in Congress. But while this may help shield Bolsonaro from impeachment proceedings, it will also likely significantly limit his political maneuvering by making him beholden to bloc members’ regional priorities for the remainder of his presidential term. On July 27, Bolsonaro’s government formally announced a cabinet reshuffle in which Senator Ciro Nogueira will be the new chief of staff. Nogueira belongs to the Progressistas party, which is a member of the “Big Center” (Centrao) coalition in Brazil’s Congress. House Speaker Arthur Lira -- who alone has the ability to trigger impeachment proceedings -- also belongs to Progressistas. Bolsonaro’s decision to appoint Nogueira as chief of staff is thus likely an aim to defuse the impeachment threat by better aligning himself with the influential Big Center bloc....
