On May 24th all but one of the 73 lower-house deputies of the catch-all Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), the PT's main coalition partner, voted for an amendment to a new Forestry Code to grant an amnesty for illegal logging before 2008.

ECONOMIST: Brazil's president

The coalition's third main party, the catch-all Brazilian Democratic Movement, lacks a credible contender.

ECONOMIST: Politics in Brazil

To add to Mr Franco's smouldering resentment, his quixotic effort to run for the presidency against Mr Cardoso last year was squashed by government supporters in his catch-all Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement.

ECONOMIST: Brazil