Brazil's Calheiros quits party leadership in Senate ahead of labor reform vote

Brazilian senator Renan Calheiros on Wednesday announced he will no longer be the leader of the ruling PMDB party in the upper chamber, signaling growing chances of approval for a government-sponsored overhaul of the labor code.

Calheiros, former Senate president until last year, has long opposed President Michel Temer's labor bill saying the government has no credibility to approve his agenda of economic reforms. His decision exposes a rift with Temer, but suggests he lacks support of a majority of fellow PMDB senators.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)