A hothead who loves capitalism: meet Brazil’s man of the hour

Rodrigo Maia keeps denying that he’s plotting to replace Brazil’s embattled president. His own mother doesn’t quite believe him.

As speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Maia is, in fact, first in line to replace Michel Temer, should Temer go the way of his ousted predecessor, Dilma Rousseff. Next week, Maia will preside over a vote on whether Temer will be tried on corruption charges. Maia also has the power to approve requests — of which there are several — to initiate impeachment proceedings.

That he has refused to do so hasn’t squelched speculation in the National Congress and the media that he wants to dethrone Temer. Neither have his own declarations, nor the fact that his wife’s stepfather, Wellington Moreira Franco, is of one of Temer’s closest aides. The speaker remains the unlikely center of political attention in Latin America’s largest country.

“It’s a question of being in the right place at the right time,” said Ivan Valente, a lawmaker from the Socialism and Liberty Party. Circumstances can give you star power, “even if you are someone without much presence, charisma or support” among the electorate.

Indeed, Maia, 47, might not at first glance seem to be presidential material. Soft-spoken — to the point of coming off as shy to some — he occasionally displays a nervous tick. He’s known for flashes of bad temper, such as when he cursed at one deputy and shoved another during a protest against a laborreform bill. Asked to name his son’s big challenge, Cesar Maia, a former mayor of Rio de Janeiro, had a swift answer: “Controlling his emotions.”