Political scandal has not harmed Brazil’s economic recovery, according to Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles.

“We continue working normally [and] Brazil continues to function,” Mr Meirelles says. The Rio Times reported his remarks during a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris this week.

Brazil’s economy grew by 1 percent in the first quarter of this year, the strongest growth since the second quarter of 2013, the Brazilian statistics agency IBGE reported earlier this month.

Brazil expects the economy to grow by 0.5 percent this year, returning to growth after two years of recession.