Brazilian opposition leader: Government's power is waning

Brazilian Senator Aecio Neves, center left, shakes hands with Brazil'z Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes at a legal conference in Lisbon, Thursday, March 31 2016. Neves, the leader of the Social Democracy Party who narrowly lost to Dilma Rousseff in a 2014 presidential runoff, says the Brazilian government "has lost its legitimacy, the ability to run the country." Besides Neves and Mendes, the conference included other participants seen as opponents of Rousseff.(AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

Brazilian Senator Aecio Neves, center left, pats the shoulder of Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes at a legal conference in Lisbon, Thursday, March 31, 2016. Neves, the leader of the Social Democracy Party who narrowly lost to Dilma Rousseff in a 2014 presidential runoff, says the Brazilian government "has lost its legitimacy, the ability to run the country." Besides Neves and Mendes, the conference included other participants seen as opponents of Rousseff.(AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

The leader of Brazil's main opposition party says embattled President Dilma Rousseff is losing her grip on power amid a corruption scandal that is compromising her ability to pull Latin America's biggest country out of its worst recession in decades.

Senator Aecio Neves, the leader of the Social Democracy Party who narrowly lost to Rousseff in a 2014 presidential runoff, says the Brazilian government "has lost its legitimacy, the ability to run the country."

Impeachment proceedings over allegations that Rousseff's administration infringed fiscal rules have eroded her political support and made it hard for her to pass legislation that could improve the economy.

Neves is attending a legal conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on Thursday that included other participants seen as opponents of Rousseff.