Yet another Brazilian crisis

The country's oil reforms are promising, but the president's scandal-plagued term could undermine their longevity

Those applauding Brazilian president Michel Temer's efforts to kick-start its moribund oil industry by reducing costly local procurement rules, resolving regulatory impasses and widening investor access to massive offshore prospects through an unprecedented three-year schedule of oil-rights auctions should probably curb their enthusiasm. Brazil's rumbling political crisis isn't going away, and it risks undermining the reforms. The most recent turn came when Brazil's Supreme Court released recordings in May that implicate Temer and other key political supporters in efforts to obstruct the rapid progress of Brazil's Lava Jato, or "Car Wash", corruption probe. The tapes strongly suggest that Te