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☆ France's Macron Says Proposed EU-Mercosur Agreement Is 'Very Bad Deal'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"As it is negotiated today, it is a very bad deal, for you and for us," Macron told businessmen in Sao Paulo while on a three-day trip to Latin America's largest economy, amid troubled talks over a free trade deal between the two economic blocs. "There is nothing that takes into consideration the subject of biodiversity and climate; nothing," Macron said. "Let's forge a new deal in light of our goals and reality, a trade deal that is responsible on development, climate and biodiversity." "It's true we lost an opportunity at the end of last year, but we should not give up on this deal." At upcoming G20 and COP summits in Brazil, Macron said he planned to push for more international standards to financially incentivize banks, firms and investors to decarbonize industrial processes and better preserve the environment.

Persons: Sarah Morland, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Fernando Haddad, Haddad, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo Simoes, Jonathan Oatis, Kylie Madry, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reuters, European Union, South American Mercosur, Brazilian Finance Locations: Brazil, Sao Paulo, France, Africa, Mexico City

☆ Brazil's Senate Leader Pacheco Says Government to Revoke Payroll Tax Proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Brazilian Senate leader Rodrigo Pacheco said on Friday the government would revoke a proposal it made to phase out the extension of payroll tax exemptions for various labor sectors, yielding to the will of the lawmakers on the matter. Speaking at a Lide Group event in Switzerland, Pacheco said that payroll tax exemption for 17 sectors of the economy until 2027 would remain. "The exemption will stand, and there is a commitment from the federal government to...revoke this provisional measure in the part that concerns the payroll exemption," Pacheco said during a panel session at the event in Zurich. Lawmakers voted to extend payroll tax exemptions for 17 labor sectors until 2027, with an impact of 12 billion reais ($2.44 billion) that had not yet been incorporated into the 2024 budget. The government package, which met with immediate political opposition, proposed reducing and gradually phasing out these benefits.

Persons: Rodrigo Pacheco, Pacheco, we've, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Eduardo Simões, Steven Grattan, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Reuters, Lawmakers Locations: Switzerland, Zurich

☆ Scientists identify new dinosaur species from footprints in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's geological service on Thursday announced a new species of dinosaur, a speedy animal that lived in the desert during the early Cretaceous period. "From the large distance between the footprints found, it is possible to deduce that it was a very fast reptile that ran across the ancient dunes," the geological service said in a statement. The fossilized dinosaur "trackways," as scientists call them, were first found in the 1980s by Italian priest and paleontologist Giuseppe Leonardi in what today is the city of Araraquara, in Sao Paulo state. The footprints are different from all other known dinosaur footprints, said MCTer paleontologist Rafael Costa. Reporting by Jake Spring and Eduardo Simoes; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giuseppe Leonardi, Leonardi, Rafael Costa, Jake Spring, Eduardo Simoes, Brendan O'Boyle, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: SAO PAULO, Brazil's Museum, Earth Sciences, Thomson Locations: Araraquara, Sao Paulo

SAO PAULO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains in southern Brazil rose to 36, local authorities said on Wednesday, as a tropical cyclone battered and soaked the region, flooding homes and swelling rivers. Video obtained by Reuters showed rising water flooding streets and rivers and submerging houses in the small town of Mucum, in Rio Grande do Sul state. Dominguez Fontana, a 74-year-old sawmill worker who escaped the Mucum flooding, said nothing could be salvaged. The Rio Grande do Sul floods are just the latest recent natural disasters in Brazil. More than 50 people were killed in Sao Paulo state this year after massive downpours caused landslides and flooding.

Persons: Dominguez Fontana, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Eduardo Leite, Lula, Geraldo Alckmin, Eduardo Simoes, Gabriel Araujo, Kylie Madry, William Maclean, David Gregorio Our Organizations: SAO PAULO, Reuters, Roca, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul, Sao Paulo, Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Santa Catarina

☆ Brazil's Lula wants to discuss changes to UN Security Council with Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and President Joe Biden walk along the West Colonnade to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 10, 2023. Sarah Silbiger/Pool via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSAO PAULO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he wants to discuss the possibility of making changes to the United Nations Security Council with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden. Lula, who has long campaigned for Brazil and other countries to be permanently included in the council, is expected to meet Biden on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next month in New York. Last week, during a summit of the BRICS group of emerging nations in South Africa, the leftist leader called on fellow BRICS members China and Russia to support more countries entering the council as permanent members. The Brazilian leader added in a live broadcast on social media that BRICS members have agreed to discuss until next year's summit the possibility of establishing a common currency for trade between them.

Persons: Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Joe Biden, Sarah Silbiger, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Biden, Gabriel Araujo, Eduardo Simoes, Kylie Madry Organizations: White, SAO PAULO, United Nations Security Council, U.S, General Assembly, Congress, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Brazil, New York, South Africa, China, Russia, India, Germany, Japan

☆ Brazil police violence reignites after deadly Rio, Sao Paulo raids
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Police in Rio de Janeiro killed at least nine people in a raid on Wednesday, in the latest example of deadly violence by Brazil's security officials after 16 people died at the hands of Sao Paulo state police earlier this week. Police in Rio said they were attacked by armed assailants during Wednesday's operation in the Penha neighborhood. Lopsided death tolls have become a common occurrence in Rio raids, leading critics to allege excessive force or even summary executions by the police. REUTERS/Pilar OlivaresSao Paulo, Brazil's wealthiest and most populous state, has been less blighted by police violence than neighboring Rio. Among those killed in the Rio operation were "Fiel" and "Du Leme," two alleged gang leaders in the impoverished Juramento and Chatuba neighborhoods, police said.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Pilar Olivares Sao, Santos, Tarcisio de Freitas, Freitas, Du Leme, Marco Andrade, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Eduardo Simoes, Steven Grattan, Gabriel Stargardter, Jonathan Oatis, Richard Chang, Alistair Bell Organizations: RIO DE, Police, REUTERS, Paulo, Thomson Locations: RIO DE JANEIRO, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Rio, Penha, Guaruja

[1/2] A logo of Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company is seen at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio MoraesSAO PAULO, May 18 (Reuters) - A decision by Brazil's environmental regulator to block state-owned oil company Petrobras' Amazon oil project has exposed tensions in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's coalition between green advocates and those prioritizing economic development. Ibama, late on Wednesday, said it would block a request by state-run oil giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA) to drill at the Amazon mouth near Amapá, in a much-awaited decision that followed a technical recommendation by Ibama experts to reject the project. The decision by Ibama, which is overseen by Lula's environment minister, the globally recognized environmentalist Marina Silva, has riled some within the governing coalition. "We'll fight against this decision," Rodrigues wrote on Twitter, adding that "the people of Amapa want to have the right to be heard".

SAO PAULO, May 9 (Reuters) - Renowned Brazilian rock singer and songwriter Rita Lee, an icon of the Tropicalia artistic movement, died on Tuesday after a two-year battle with lung cancer, her family said. Her death brought an outpouring of tributes from artists, politicians and celebrities who cheered her trailblazing role in Brazilian rock. Rita Lee Jones de Carvalho was born on Dec. 31, 1947, in Sao Paulo, to a dentist of U.S. descent and a Brazilian pianist with Italian ancestry. Kicked out of Os Mutantes by Baptista, whom she had been married to, for supposed artistic differences, Lee played with the band Tutti Frutti in the 1970s. Rita Lee was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and had been undergoing treatment since then.

☆ Brazil new fiscal framework designed to 'last for long time' -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SAO PAULO, April 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron said on Wednesday that a new fiscal framework proposed by the government was designed to last for a long time, facing different economic and political cycles. "It is a sustainable path, unlike past solutions that had an expiration date," Ceron said in an interview with GloboNews, adding the framework puts an end to doubts about whether government spending would get "out of control". Ceron said that government simulations showed Brazil's downward debt trajectory starting as soon as 2026 under the new framework, depending on monetary easing. In the most pessimistic scenario, he added, debt would stabilize by 2029. Reporting by Eduardo Simoes; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's Lula calls for 'peace group' to broker Ukraine-Russia deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

He cited Xi and the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both of whom he met this week. Lula had previously said the group should gather countries not "encouraging" war, adding that nations that are supplying weapons should be convinced to stop doing so. Germany earlier this year reportedly asked Brazil to supply arms as well, but Lula refused. Lula had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier this year. Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's Lula mulls inflation target change as interest rates 'inexplicable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, April 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday again criticized the country's interest rates, saying at a meeting with journalists that current lending costs were inexplicable and hinting at a potential change to inflation targets. "If the inflation target is wrong, change the target," Lula said, according to remarks broadcast by TV channel GloboNews. Brazil has an inflation target of 3.25% for this year, which will be lowered to 3% in 2024, but consumer prices reached 5.6% in the 12 months through February. Benchmark interest rates stand at a six-year high of 13.75%. Reporting by Eduardo Simoes and Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Death toll from Brazil floods, landslides reaches 57
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains that devastated coastal areas of Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state reached 57 people on Friday, official figures showed. Massive downpours have caused landslides and flooding in coastal towns of Brazil's richest state since last weekend. The city of Sao Sebastiao bore the brunt of the human toll, with 56 of the reported deaths. The Sao Paulo state government said in a statement that more rains were expected on Friday while search and rescue efforts continued with dozens still missing. On Thursday a Brazilian Navy ship arrived in Sao Sebastiao to help rescue victims.

☆ Brazil downpours leave at least 49 killed, death toll expected to rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains that devastated coastal areas of Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state reached 49 people, official figures showed on Thursday, as cities in the region brace for more downpour in the coming days. The number of casualties rose from 48 reported a day earlier, the Sao Paulo state government said in a statement, but dozens remained missing and search and rescue efforts continued. The city of Sao Sebastiao, located some 200 km (124.3 miles) from Sao Paulo, bore the brunt of the human toll, with 48 of the reported deaths, but nearby towns such as Ilhabela, Caraguatatuba, Bertioga and Ubatuba were also affected. Massive downpours have caused landslides and flooding since last weekend in coastal towns of Brazil's richest state, so far hit by more than 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) of rain, the highest cumulative figure ever in the country. Reporting by Eduardo Simoes; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Death toll from Brazil downpours hits 48, dozens still missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Volunteers, firefighters, army officers and a civil guard carry the body of a woman who died at one of the landslide sites after severe rainfall at Barra do Sahy, in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliSAO PAULO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains that devastated coastal areas of Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state reached 48 people, official figures showed on Wednesday, but dozens were still missing as search and rescue efforts continued. The number of casualties rose from 46 reported a day earlier, the Sao Paulo state government said in a statement. The city of Sao Sebastiao, located some 200 km (124.3 miles) from Sao Paulo, bore the brunt of the human toll, with 47 of the reported deaths. The floods in coastal Sao Paulo state were the latest in a series of such disasters to recently strike Brazil, where shoddy construction, often on hillsides, can have tragic consequences during the country's rainy season.

☆ Brazilian justice confirms senator told him about election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON/SAO PAULO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes confirmed on Friday that Senator Marcos do Val told him about an election conspiracy meeting he allegedly attended with former President Jair Bolsonaro and former lawmaker Daniel Silveira last year. Moraes said during an event held in Lisbon that Do Val approached him to talk about the meeting. The justice said he then asked the senator to testify formalizing the allegations, but Do Val declined to do so. Do Val told reporters on Thursday that Bolsonaro, narrowly defeated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an October vote, "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Moraes at the meeting. Silveira was arrested by police on Thursday on a warrant issued by Moraes, who accused him of disobeying court rulings.

☆ Brazil senator says he attended election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Brazilian senator said on Thursday that a close ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro tried to persuade the senator to join a conspiracy to overturn the far-right leader's electoral loss last year. Senator Marcos do Val told a news conference that he had been invited to a meeting on Dec. 9 with then-President Bolsonaro by his associate, former lawmaker Daniel Silveira. At the meeting, Silveira asked the senator to try to get the head of the electoral court to make compromising comments in a taped conversation that could lead to the judge's arrest, Val said. The senator told reporters that Bolsonaro "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge running Brazil's top electoral authority (TSE). Silveira told the former president that Val, a Bolsonaro supporter, could be trusted and asked Bolsonaro to present "the idea that would save Brazil" to him, according to the Veja report.

☆ Germany pledges funds to help Brazil defend Amazon rainforest
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Germany on Monday pledged 200 million euros ($217 million) to help Brazil defend the Amazon rainforest, a global ecosystem devastated during years of rule under former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The sum includes a donation of 35 million euros ($38 million) to the Amazon Fund to strengthen a billion-dollar initiative funded by Norway and Germany to protect the South American rainforest and fight deforestation. The Amazon Fund was re-activated by Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office vowing to halt deforestation in the world's largest tropical rainforest. As president Bolsonaro said Brazilians had the right to develop natural resources in the Amazon. The German assistance includes socio-environmental projects to support Brazilian states in the Amazon rainforest and low-interest loans to farmers for the reforestation of their land, a statement issued by Brazil said.

☆ Davos 2023: Brazil lacking world aid to fight climate change, Silva says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

She said Brazil has regained the trust of the European Parliament with regards to resistance to the EU trade deal with South America's Mercosur bloc. Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Silva said Brazil's new government that took office on Jan. 1, was rebuilding Brazil's environmental agencies and policies that were "completely dismantled" by the previous administration. Silva said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had offered to hold the COP30 climate summit in the Amazon region in 2025 to show its commitment towards curbing in climate change. Silva and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad represented Brazil at the WEF and discussed the country's economic, social and environmental roadmap in a panel. Reporting by Alessandra Galloni in Davos, Anthony Boadle and Eduardo Simoes in Brazil; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's Lula pays respects to Pele as 150,000 attend stadium wake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Soccer Football - Death of Brazilian soccer legend Pele - Vila Belmiro Stadium, Santos, Brazil - January 3, 2023 Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is pictured with mourners. Dubbed the 'king of soccer,' Pele played for Santos from 1956 to 1974, scoring more than 1,000 goals. Newly sworn-in President Lula arrived by helicopter on Tuesday morning and stood next to Pele's casket, draped with a Brazilian flag, in the center of the soccer field. "Few Brazilians carried the name of our country as far as he did," Lula said last week after Pele's death. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was one of the first to attend the memorial on Monday and said he would ask football associations around the world to name a stadium after Pele.

[1/5] A man takes a picture of the vehicle transporting Brazilian soccer legend Pele's body, at the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. "The expectation is huge, the whole world will be here," said local fan Roberto Santos. He was the creator of Brazilian soccer," said fan Antonio da Paz, waiting outside the stadium for the memorial set to begin at 10 a.m. (1300 GMT). Several authorities are expected to attend the memorial, including newly sworn-in Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin - a longtime Santos supporter - and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. "I'll be here all day, 24 hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 a.m.," fan Roberto Santos said.

☆ Brazil's incoming finance chief Haddad names ministry officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's incoming Finance Minister Fernando Haddad on Thursday announced a fresh batch of officials to lead the economic team of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government. In a press conference, Haddad said Rogerio Ceron, his finance secretary when he himself served as Sao Paulo's mayor, would lead Brazil's Treasury. Ceron recently headed Sao Paulo Parcerias, a city government-linked agency involved in projects related to concessions, privatization and public-private partnerships. Haddad also confirmed Marcos Barbosa Pinto as the finance ministry's new secretary for economic reforms, Guilherme Mello as economic policy secretariat, and Robinson Barreirinhas as secretary of the federal revenue service. Haddad said the "quartet" he presented on Thursday would boost the finance ministry's efficiency and find solutions to the country's problems.

☆ Petrobras shares dive on Brazil vote to ease rules on politicians running state firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's lower house of Congress voted late on Tuesday to make it easier for politicians to take roles at state-run firms, hammering shares of the state-run oil company, devastated by a political graft scandal over the past decade. Shares in state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA) (Petrobras) closed 10% lower on Wednesday. Analysts at BTG Pactual said the revised law would be bad for governance at state-owned firms as it eliminates one of their main mechanisms of defense from political influence. Incoming Finance Minister Fernando Haddad did his best to downplay the looser controls on politicians running state firms, saying the most important way to fight corruption is with strong, independent auditors. Reporting by Eduardo Simoes, Carolina Pulice and Marcela Ayres; Writing by Steven Grattan and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Brad Haynes, Mark Potter and Lincoln Feast.

☆ Bolsonaro ally running for Sao Paulo governor says campaign event 'attacked'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A close ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro running for governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcisio Freitas, said a campaign event was "attacked by criminals" on Monday in the Paraisopolis neighborhood of the state capital. Sao Paulo Public Security Secretary Joao Camilo Campos said that preliminary information suggested there had not been an attack targeting Freitas, although investigators had not ruled out any hypothesis. Officials confirmed a man was killed near the site of the campaign event, but provided no further details. During a visit to the 1st University Hub of Paraisopolis, we were attacked by criminals. Our security team was quickly reinforced with brilliant work by the @PMESP (Sao Paulo Military Police).

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