Itamaraty, as Brazil's foreign ministry is known, prides itself on having Latin America's most professional diplomats. But nobody in Brazil's government comes out well from an extraordinary incident involving a Bolivian opposition politician that has cost the foreign minister, Antonio Patriota, his job. Roger Pinto, an opposition senator, sought refuge in Brazil's embassy in La Paz in May 2012 after he had accused ministers in Bolivia's socialist government of involvement in drug-trafficking. He was in turn deluged with corruption charges, and claimed he was being politically persecuted.
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