Brazil

• Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 10:53 UTC

  Mercosur summit first week of July; Brazil and its domestic integration policy

  

  Next month, from Thursday, July 4th to 8th, the Mercosur pro tempore presidency will be handed by Paraguay to Uruguay, at the capital Asunción during the regional presidential summit. On the occasion, Paraguayan president Santiago Peña will be giving the Mercosur presidency to Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou. Still, it will be interesting to see how leaders of the two major members, Argentina's ultra-liberal Javier Milei and Brazil's populist Lula da Silva, who are not on talking terms, will approach circumstances if they effectively attend the summit.

• Tuesday, June 25th 2024 - 21:11 UTC

  Brazil: Lula visits ailing linguist Noam Chomsky and other “Over 90s”

  

  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid a visit Monday to renowned linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky who is recovering from heart surgery at his home in Sao Paulo. The 95-year-old US thinker has resided in South America's largest city since marrying Brazilian national and fellow linguist Valeria Wasserman.

• Tuesday, June 25th 2024 - 09:41 UTC

  Brazil's yearly inflation projection adjusted slightly upwards

  

  Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) Monday released the latest edition of its Focus Bulletin showing a slight upward adjustment in the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) from 3.96% to 3.98% this year, Agencia Brasil reported. The index is considered the country's official inflation. The weekly survey among leading financial institutions also projected an increase from 3.8% to 3.85% next year while for 2026 and 2027 the forecasts were 3.6% and 3.5% respectively.

• Tuesday, June 25th 2024 - 08:23 UTC

  State of emergency declared in Mato Grosso do Sul due to Pantanal fire

  

  Brazilian authorities have declared a state of emergency for six months in Mato Grosso do Sul in a move to facilitate help against the fire in the Pantanal, a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands, where flames reached 627,000 hectares this year, according to the Laboratory of Environmental Satellite Applications (Lasa) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Experts believe the main cause for this phenomenon was the extreme drought coupled with human action, especially agricultural expansion.

• Saturday, June 22nd 2024 - 09:37 UTC

  Lula believes Selic should have been lowered

  

  Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was strongly critical of his country's Central Bank's (BCB) decision not to lower the benchmark Selic interest rate this week and leave it at 10.5% per annum instead.

• Friday, June 21st 2024 - 11:01 UTC

  Argentina answers requirement from Brazil's STF regarding Jan. 8 fugitives

  

  Argentina's Foreign Ministry sent a note to its Brazilian counterpart explaining the situation of 83 asylum seekers from that country who had fled to avoid jail following their alleged involvement in the Jan 8., 2022, riots in Brasilia, it was reported Thursday in Buenos Aires after some government officials denied these refuge requests existed. Buenos Aires' note was in response to a requirement from the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

• Thursday, June 20th 2024 - 19:17 UTC

  Montevideo remains the most expensive city in the region

  

  Montevideo remained South America's most expensive place to live according to the Mercer Ranking released this week, closely followed by Buenos Aires, a place that has been moving up fast since President Javier Milei's Dec. 10, 2023, inauguration. The list helps multinational employers plan their strategies regarding compensations and other expenses, it was explained. Hong Kong stayed at the top, followed by Singapore, and Sitzerland's Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.

• Thursday, June 20th 2024 - 15:25 UTC

  Fearing inflation ahead, Brazil's central bank leaves basic rate unchanged at 10,50%

  

  With budget overspending and prospects of higher inflation in weeks ahead, the Brazilian central bank, independent from the Executive, kept the Selic rate unchanged at 10.50%. This means there are no expectations for a resumption of the rates easing cycle this year.

• Thursday, June 20th 2024 - 10:55 UTC

  Petrobras CEO says oil will lead Brazil's energy transition

  

  Despite being de-facto the new CEO of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras for a while, Magda Chambriard took her oath of office Wednesday during a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Agencia Brfasil reported. In her speech at the event attended among others by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chambriard insisted that oil would lead the way into energy transition progressively reducing carbon emissions and zeroing them by 2050.

• Wednesday, June 19th 2024 - 09:49 UTC

  Rio Grande do Sul's death toll updated to 177

  

  According to an updated report on the floods in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul released Tuesday, 177 people had perished while 37 others were still unaccounted for. Agencia Brasil also said some 10,000 people were still in shelters as Civil Defense authorities issued a new heavy rain alert after at least 19 municipalities were damaged by new floods this past weekend.