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Chaos struck Brazil's capital on Sunday, when supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attacked the country's Congress by climbing on top of its roof and breaking the glass in its windows. Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro rifle through papers on a desk in Planalto Palace, the workplace of Brazil's president, in Brasilia on Sunday. Eraldo Peres / APLula da Silva held a televised address Sunday where he authorized federal intervention within the Federal District until the end of January. Democracy guarantees the right to free expression, but it also requires people to respect institutions," the president tweeted. "And you know that there are several speeches by the former president encouraging this," Lula da Silva said.

☆ Brazil's former President Bolsonaro accused of trashing the nation's iconic presidential palace, says report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, has been accused of trashing the official residency. The Palácio da Alvorada – Palace of Dawn – in Brasília is considered a masterpiece of modernist architecture. The new President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, was sworn into office on New Year's Day. The shabby state of the building was revealed in a tour of the palace with Brazil's first lady, Rosângela Lula da Silva, who GloboNews political correspondent Natuza Nery accompanied. According to a New York Times report, Bolsonaro flew to the US and planned to stay for at least a month while he faced investigations from his term as president relating to misinformation.

☆ Bolsonaro supporters invade Brazil presidential palace, Congress, Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro take part in a protest to ask for federal intervention outside the Army headquarters in Brasilia, on November 2, 2022. Supporters of Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday invaded the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court, in a grim echo of the U.S. Capitol invasion two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump. Television images showed protesters breaking into the Supreme Court and Congress, chanting slogans and smashing furniture. The Supreme Court was ransacked by the occupiers, according to social media images that showed protesters shattering the windows of the modernist building. "Violence has no place in a democracy," Douglas Koneff, the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Brasilia, wrote on Twitter.

☆ Biden condemns 'assault on democracy' in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday condemned "the assault on democracy" in Brazil after supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court. "I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined," Biden said on Twitter. Earlier on Sunday, Biden said the situation in Brazil was "outrageous." "I condemn this outrageous assault on #Brazil’s govt buildings incited by demagogue Bolsonaro’s reckless disregard for democratic principles," U.S.

☆ Incoming Petrobras CEO Prates rules out fuel price interventions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - The incoming chief executive of Brazil's oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) said on Wednesday there will be no interventions in fuel prices, and shares of the state-run firm rose. Jean Paul Prates, handpicked by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to lead the company, told journalists he does not intend to unlink Petrobras' fuel prices from those of international markets, but "will unlink them from import parity." Without forcing, without imposing a tariff, with absolutely no direct intervention in the market," Prates explained. His remarks, which echoed comments he made after his appointment as CEO, boosted Petrobras' share price, said Reach Capital's investment head, Ricardo Campos. Reporting by Marta Nogueira and Paula Arend Laier; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Norway says fund to reduce Amazon deforestation in Brazil back in business
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"He has reinstated strategies to make this happen, and appointed ministers with substantial knowledge and expertise in the area," Barth Eide said. In 2008 in an earlier term as president, Lula set up the fund to receive international contributions to Brazil's efforts to stop deforestation. He also signed decrees re-establishing Brazil's strategies to reduce Amazon deforestation, the rate of which surged to a 15-year high under Bolsonaro. Re-establishment of the fund "is globally significant," Barth Eide said. "The Amazon Fund gives the international community a great opportunity to contribute."

☆ Brazil's VP says development bank should be strengthened to leverage the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Asked whether this would involve changing the so-called TLP rate, charged by BNDES to lenders, he said only "it is important to create conditions to reduce the interest rate." It replaced the former TJLP rate, which was set by the government below the country's Selic base rate, to subsidize corporate loans. In his inaugural speech, Alckmin said his ministry will have BNDES under its wing, stressing it was essential to strengthen the bank's role to leverage the economy. According to Alckmin, BNDES should act "as a dynamizer of the industry competitiveness and exports, especially those of higher added value." That contrasts with former President Jair Bolsonaro, who centralized policy formulation and decision-making into a single Economy Ministry.

Bolsonaro, a far-right nationalist, left Brazil for Florida on Friday after losing to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil's most fraught vote in a generation. Bolsonaro's U.S. trip insulates him from any immediate legal jeopardy in Brazil, where he is under investigation in at least four criminal probes. Under Brazil's constitution, a sitting president can only be arrested if he is convicted by the Supreme Court. From September, Lula will be able to install his own prosecutor general, who has the power to charge Bolsonaro if his cases remain with the Supreme Court. Bolsonaro also faces 12 requests for investigation at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for baseless claims Brazil's electoral system is liable to fraud, as well as alleged abuses of power for granting economic benefits to win votes.

☆ Criticism of Lula's economic plans mounts as Brazil markets tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Haddad, a former mayor of Sao Paulo, took office vowing to restore public accounts and with the challenge of presenting a credible fiscal framework after Congress passed a giant Lula social spending package. Markets reacted badly to Haddad's first days in office, especially after Lula ordered a budget-busting extension to a fuel tax exemption which Haddad had publicly opposed. "Haddad learned on his first day in office that he will be a decorative figure, a sort of task worker for President Lula," the conservative daily said in an editorial. On Tuesday, markets were further rattled by remarks by Lula's social security and labour ministers. That was compounded when he said Lula's government would need to review the investor-friendly pension reform approved by Bolsonaro's administration.

☆ Brazil prepares to bury Pelé in the city he made a soccer mecca
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it’s hard to imagine modern soccer, or Brazil, without him. Pelé will be buried Tuesday in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make into a global capital of soccer. The coffin of Brazilian soccer great Pelé is carried Monday to the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos, Brazil. He made soccer important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” he said. Pelé led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals.

☆ Brazil’s New President Reverses His Predecessor’s Loosened Gun Laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Samantha Pearson | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A shooting club in São Paulo. Many Brazilians say they should be allowed to possess firearms in the face of violence by heavily-armed criminal gangs. BRASÍLIA—In his first hours as Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued sweeping changes to tighten the country’s firearms laws and reverse looser rules imposed by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro , that prompted a million new gun registrations since 2019. A presidential decree, which took effect Monday, suspends new registrations of guns for hunting and sport as the leftist government works to rewrite the country’s 20-year-old gun laws. The decree forbids owners from transporting loaded weapons, suspends new applications for gun clubs and reduces the number of firearms permitted per individual from six to three.

☆ Bolivia's Arce hopes to mend ties with Brazil as Lula takes office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Bolivia's President Luis Arce said on Monday he hopes Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will help improve diplomatic relations and explain issues that generated controversy during former President Jair Bolsonaro's mandate. Arce pointed to the supposed support of far-right politician Bolsonaro for the resignation of former leftist president Evo Morales in 2019. Like Lula, Morales had formed part of a wave of leftists who dominated Latin American politics at the start of the century. Regarding natural gas contracts, Arce's government said in May Bolivia was seeking higher prices for natural gas sold to Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA), claiming current contracts with the state-run oil company generated steep losses. Lula took office promising to "mend" diplomatic relations.

☆ 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.

The sugar and ethanol (S&E) industry, as well as international sugar traders, were widely expecting the resumption of federal taxes on gasoline and ethanol, as indicated by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad last week. "In our perspective, this measure might have negative effects on the S&E sector, as it maintains the ethanol prices below the market's forecast, while the expectation was for an increase in ethanol prices in the beginning of 2023," said Citi Research. Sugar and ethanol industry group Unica said the new administration had become "an accomplice" to the attack on the environment begun under the former administration, adding that the measure contradicts Lula's speech at the COP 27 U.N. climate meeting in November. The group said that the tax exemption was unconstitutional, since the law requires the federal government to give a tax incentive to biofuels. Mauricio Muruci, an analyst with Safras & Mercado, said fuel distributors were actively buying ethanol late last year before the expected tax return.

☆ Brazil's Petrobras CEO resigns as ministry chooses his successor -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Petrobras did not immediately comment on the resignation. Andrade had been handpicked by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro after three of his predecessors left following clashes with Bolsonaro over Petrobras' fuel pricing policy. Prates will need final approval as a board member and subsequently as CEO from the firm's current board of directors. Andrade's term had been set to expire in April, but Reuters reported late last year that he had decided to resign earlier. Reporting by Carolina Pulice, Peter Frontini and Marta Nogueira; Editing by Mark Porter, Bradley Perrett and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil’s Lula Returns to Power, 20 Years After First Taking Office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Samantha Pearson | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRASÍLIA— Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , the 77-year-old standard-bearer of Latin America’s left, returned to power Sunday, 12 years after his last stint as president. This time around he faces some of his toughest challenges yet, from uniting a bitterly divided nation to halting the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest and boosting the incomes of millions of desperately poor families. Thousands of supporters, many singing and waving the crimson flag of the Workers’ Party, joined dignitaries from across the Americas in the capital for the inauguration and a festival of open-air concerts to celebrate the return of Mr. da Silva, known popularly as Lula.

☆ Brazil markets tumble on Lula's first full day in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Haddad, who is seeking to dispel market fears that he might not maintain fiscal discipline, took office on Monday, pledging to control spending. "The policies remind us of Dilma Rousseff's government rather than Lula's," Gracia said, referring to Lula's handpicked successor, who was impeached while in office. Allies said Lula's newfound social conscience was the result of his 580 days in prison, Reuters reported on Sunday. Lula kicks off his third presidential term after persuading Congress to pass a one-year, 170 billion-reais increased social spending package, in line with his campaign promises. Lula spent his first day in office meeting with more than a dozen heads of state who attended his inauguration.

☆ Brazil's Lula says he received letter from China's Xi on further cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday he had received a letter from Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressing a desire to increase cooperation between the two countries. "I received from China's Vice President Wang Qishan a letter from President Xi Jinping expressing his compliments and willingness to expand our cooperation," he said on his Twitter account. "China is our biggest trading partner and we can further expand relations between our countries," he added. Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sarah MorlandOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jair Bolsonaro ditched the inauguration of Brazil's new president, fleeing to the home of an MMA fighter near Disney World: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jair Bolsonaro was missing from the inauguration of Brazil's new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In Bolsonaro's place, a 33-year-old garbage collector gave Lula da Silva the presidential sash. The leftist incumbent snagged the office from the country's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, in a tight runoff election in October. As per tradition, Bolsonaro was supposed to pass Lula da Silva a presidential sash during Sunday's ceremony, symbolizing a peaceful transition of power. Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (left) waves to supporters on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in Brasilia, Brazil, January 1, 2023.

[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 Haddad vows to 'restore' public accounts in first speech as finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's new Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday he would propose a new fiscal anchor in the first half of this year as the administration of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva works to "restore" public accounts. In his first speech in office, Haddad said the government would not accept the "absurd" 220-billion-real ($41.19 billion) primary deficit forecast in this year's budget, indicating it will work to reduce it. Haddad did not mention Lula's decision the day before to extend a costly tax exemption on fuels. Prior to taking office, Haddad had stated that the measure - which has an annual impact of 52.9 billion reais - would not be extended. According to Haddad, the government will seek to democratize access to credit and establish a more transparent, "fairer and simpler" tax system.

☆ Brazil markets fall after Lula takes office vowing to end poverty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his wife Rosangela "Janja" da Silva and Chief Raoni walk through the ramp of the Planalto Palace after Lula's swearing-in ceremony, in Brasilia, Brazil, January 1, 2023. Lula narrowly defeated far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro in October, swinging South America's largest nation back on a left-wing track. Lula spent his first day in office meeting with more than a dozen heads of state who attended his inauguration. In his swearing-in speech to Congress, Lula said he was not seeking revenge, but any crimes committed under Bolsonaro would be held accountable with due legal process. ($1 = 5.3458 reais)Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Gabriel Araujo in Brasilia Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil’s Lula sworn in, vows accountability and rebuilding
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Lula is assuming office for the third time after thwarting far-right incumbent Bolsonaro’s reelection bid. Many have gathered outside military barracks since, questioning results and pleading with the armed forces to prevent Lula from taking office. Furthermore, Santoro said, the credibility of Lula and his Workers’ Party were assailed by a sprawling corruption investigation. He had been camped outside Brasilia’s army headquarters with hundreds of other Bolsonaro supporters since Nov. 12. Instead of Bolsonaro, a group representing diverse segments of society performed the role of presenting Lula with the presidential sash to Lula atop the ramp of the presidential palace.

☆ Brazil’s Lula Returns to Power in Brazil, 20 Years After First Taking Office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Samantha Pearson | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRASÍLIA— Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , the 77-year-old icon of the Latin American left, returned to power Sunday, 12 years after his last stint as president. This time around he faces some of his toughest challenges yet, from uniting a bitterly divided nation to halting the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest and boosting the incomes of millions of desperately poor families. Thousands of supporters, many singing and waving the Workers’ Party crimson flag, joined dignitaries from across the Americas in the capital for the inauguration and a festival of open-air concerts to celebrate Mr. da Silva’s return.

☆ Brazil’s Lula Makes Remarkable Return to Power After 12 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Samantha Pearson | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRASÍLIA— Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , the 77-year-old icon of the Latin American left, returns to power Sunday afternoon 12 years after his last stint as president and this time faces some of his toughest challenges yet, from uniting a bitterly divided nation to halting the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest and boosting the incomes of millions of desperately poor families. Thousands of supporters and dignitaries from across the Americas are expected to descend on this capital for the inauguration and open-air concerts to celebrate Mr. da Silva’s return. “We will make this country smile again, allow people to live in peace again,” Mr. da Silva said via Twitter in some of his last comments before he was sworn in. “We will bring back the harmony of the people.”

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