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☆ Brazil's oil firms to invest $7.7 billion in onshore fields by 2029
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Marta Nogueira | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's small- and medium-sized oil firms are set to invest some 40 billion reais ($7.74 billion) in onshore fields by 2029, according to a survey by the country's independent oil and gas producers association Abpip. The move to buy fields from Petrobras has boosted the onshore oil and gas industry in Brazil. Petrobras had sidelined some assets after shifting focus to developing its prolific pre-salt fields, Abpip's executive secretary, Anabal Santos, told Reuters. Output from onshore fields is now expected to increase to 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2029, up from 150,000 in 2016, he said. The state-run firm has already sold some offshore assets, Santos said.

☆ World Bank to lend $500 million to help Brazil meet climate goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The initiative, in collaboration with Brazilian state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil, adopts an approach to lending linked to sustainability to help Brazil meet its climate goals and deliver "robust" mitigation benefits, a bank statement said. At the start of December, the World Bank and its partners launched a global tracking system to clean up the opaque market for carbon credits and help developing countries raise much-needed climate finance quickly and more cheaply. "Up to 90 million tCO2e in emission reductions are expected by 2030, the equivalent to about 4.5% of what Brazil needs to stay on track with its net-zero commitments," the World Bank said. "Brazil has significant potential to become a global leader in the transition to a low-carbon economy", said Johannes Zutt, World Bank country director for Brazil. Banco do Brasil will be able to offer its clients packages that integrate financing with support to access carbon markets through a “one-stop shop”, as the World Bank explained it.

Companies Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras FollowRIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Caio Paes de Andrade, the chief executive of Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA), has decided to resign before his term ends in April, but has not yet set a date for his departure, six sources told Reuters. Andrade's early exit would provide a pathway for leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to quickly install his own choice to lead the company. Lula, a leftist former president, takes office on Jan. 1. Prates has previously said the incoming government will not have an interventionist stance on Petrobras. Petrobras had previously said Andrade had accepted an invitation from future Sao Paulo state Governor Tarcisio Freitas to join his team.

☆ Brazil’s Incoming President Lula da Silva Wins Approval to Spend Big
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Samantha Pearson | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has vowed to boost spending on social welfare spending when he takes office in the new year. SÃO PAULO—Brazil’s Congress suspended the government’s spending cap to allow incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to raise expenditures on social welfare and public works, prompting concerns in financial markets about the fiscal health and long-term growth of Latin America’s biggest economy. The constitutional amendment, backed by 65% of members of Congress in a final vote Wednesday, allows Mr. da Silva, who takes office on Jan. 1, to spend an extra $28 billion in 2023 outside of the country’s spending cap, sidestepping a fiscal anchor designed to keep free-spending governments in check.

☆ Latin America's 'pink tide' may have hit its high-water mark
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Brad Haynes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Alessandro Cinque/File PhotoDec 22 (Reuters) - Dramatic elections in Brazil, Chile and Colombia brought leftist governments into power across much of Latin America in 2022, capping the region's second "pink tide" in two decades. Chilean President Gabriel Boric, 36, took office in March as his country's most progressive leader in half a century and its youngest ever. Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 77, who narrowly beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in October, is a holdover from the region's first pink tide, when a commodity boom helped him finish his 2003-2010 presidency with record approval. WHAT IT MEANS FOR 2023The region's new pink tide has a distinct green tint, as progressive movements have embraced the fight against climate change. Castillo, ousted about a year and a half after his election, may not be the only leftist leader to face difficult times.

☆ Brazil's Lula announces new set of cabinet members with VP as minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday announced a new set of future cabinet members ahead of his Jan. 1 inauguration, including Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin as minister of development, industry and trade. Lula also said economist Esther Dweck would lead the newly created Management Ministry, while business-friendly congressman Alexandre Padilha was appointed institutional affairs minister. Reporting by Gabriel AraujoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will appoint Senator Jean Paul Prates of his Workers Party to be the next chief executive of state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA), a member of his transition team said on Thursday. Deyvid Bacelar, head of oil workers' union FUP, said on social media that Lula had picked Prates based on the labor group's recommendations. He added that Senator Alexandre Silveira would be chosen to be mines and energy minister. The transition team, Prates and Petrobras did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Preferred shares of the oil company rose more than 2% after Bacelar's post, outperforming Brazil's benchmark stock index Bovespa <.BVSP>, before ceding half the gain.

☆ 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.

☆ Lula, Putin talk on 'strategic' Brazil-Russia relations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had congratulated him on his recent election win and talked of stronger relations between the two countries. Putin said earlier this year he had "good relations" with both Lula and far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who made an official trip to Moscow in February, just days before the start of the war in Ukraine. "Putin congratulated me on my election victory and wished me a good administration and the strengthening of relations between our countries," the leftist leader tweeted. "Brazil is back, seeking dialogue with everyone and committed to the search for a world without hunger and with peace," Lula added. In a separate statement, the Kremlin said both men had expressed confidence that the countries' "strategic partnership...will develop successfully, including within the BRICS framework".

☆ Brazil's Lula talks to Putin, says he seeks 'dialogue with everyone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that Putin wished him a good administration and said he hoped that relations between the two countries would be strengthened. "Brazil is back, seeking dialogue with everyone and committed to the search for a world without hunger and with peace," Lula, who will take office from incumbent Jair Bolsonaro on Jan. 1, said in a Twitter post. Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank floats $10 bln Brazilian bond plan to halt Amazon deforestation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Strategists at a UK bank have proposed the idea of a super-sized $10 billion Brazilian government bond that would be specifically designed to help halt the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Stopping deforestation of the Amazon, which absorbs vast amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gas, is part of Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's sweeping plan to reclaim leadership on climate change measures. Money raised via sustainability-linked debt can be used for almost any purpose. "As a reference, a 2034 Brazilian bond is currently yielding around 6.35%, making the step up/down feature potentially financially material for Brazil," Vivanco's initial outline of the plan last week said. "If Lula goes around the world selling this bond, you would have to have a reason not to be part of it," Vivanco said.

☆ Petrobras CEO prospect pitches an expansive vision for oil giant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Magda Chambriard, a former Brazil oil regulator, also said she does not support taking back divested oil refineries and other assets or using Petrobras' profits to subsidize consumer fuel prices. Lula, who spent time in jail over a Petrobras corruption scandal, campaigned on abandoning further privatization of Petrobras, and on investing in diversification. Petrobras has sold oil refineries, retail gas stations, power plants and gas pipelines to pay debt and boost its shareholder payouts. Like Lula, she believes the way to guarantee Petrobras' future in a world determined to cut planet-warming emissions should include developing less carbon-intensive fuels, such as natural gas. Some of the dividends Petrobras distributed this year should be redirected to energy production, including exploration of new oil and gas fields, she said.

☆ Brazil's spending package affecting inflation expectations, says central bank
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank already believes a recently proposed spending package is partly affecting closely watched inflation expectations, said the bank's chief Roberto Campos Neto on Thursday. We see it in implicit inflation and in the structure of long-term interest rates and, when that happens, expectations are always contaminated," he said, adding long-term inflation expectations were in part affected. For its current inflation projections, the central bank has considered a fiscal expansion of 130 billion reais next year extracted from market estimates, said Campos Neto. The central bank held interest rates at 13.75% this month, after a September pause to an aggressive tightening that lifted rates from a 2% record low in March 2021 to battle inflation. Campos Neto pointed out that coordination between fiscal and monetary policies is "very important," and the central bank needs proper conditions to lower rates.

☆ Brazil's next Finmin Haddad says fiscal expansion won't help the economy now
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Marcela Ayres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's incoming Finance Minister Fernando Haddad on Wednesday said fiscal expansion would not help the economy at the moment and the government needs to organize its finances to allow lower interest rates, tamping down fears of a public spending spree. His comments helped to calm market concerns about an explosion in public spending under leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who takes office on Jan. 1. "There are situations that demand countercyclical actions ... but we are not at a moment when fiscal expansion will help the economy," he said in an television interview. Haddad said the only stimulus for Brazil's economy would come from the central bank cutting rates, but that would depend on signaling sustainability for public accounts. "If we signal that we have restructured public accounts in a sustainable way, it will be possible to bring interest rates" down, he said.

☆ Fact Check-Online claims that Brazilian military is executing officials due to ‘stolen’ presidential election are false
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence to support claims that the Brazilian military is executing officials from President-elect Lula de Silva’s administration because of a “fraudulent” election. Reuters found no credible reports of “executions” of politicians in the country, or that the military declared Bolsonaro as the president (bit.ly/3VUIePu). Lula narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election October 2022, and is set to take office on Jan. 1, 2023, Reuters reported (here). Claims the election in Brazil were fraudulent have previously been debunked by Reuters in Portuguese (here) and (here). There is no evidence that the Brazilian military executed officials related to President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

☆ Fact Check-Bolsonaro did not ‘annul’ Brazil’s election and the military did not find evidence of ‘fraud’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brazil’s electoral court certified president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s win on Dec. 12, 2022, contrary to claims that the election was fraudulent and annulled by President Jair Bolsonaro. There is no evidence that Bolsonaro has annulled the election results or has the power to do so, however. The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) is the highest body of the electoral system. Reuters previously debunked similar claims about Brazil’s presidential election (here) and fact checks misinformation in Brazil in Portuguese (here). Brazil’s supreme electoral court, who has power to annul elections in the country, certified the results of this year’s general election.

☆ 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.

☆ Gun-loving Bolsonaristas challenge Lula's pledge to disarm Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Gabriel Stargardter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The president-elect has pledged to "disarm" an increasingly gun-toting country where personal firearms have become a symbol of Bolsonaro's conservative base. Reuters interviewed eight other people working on, or advising, Lula's transition team on bolstering gun controls once he takes office on Jan. 1. The priority will be to reimpose civilian prohibitions on certain high-caliber weapons, including the rifle used by Jefferson, the sources said. The political context is a sharp departure from Lula's 2003-2010 presidency, when he passed sweeping gun laws to combat violent crime. Last week, they charged him with four counts of attempted murder, resisting arrest, and weapons charges.

Brazil has yet to publish its official annual figures for Cerrado deforestation, based on satellite analysis by the government's space research agency Inpe. The Cerrado neighbors the Amazon, occupying more than 2 million square kilometers in central Brazil – larger than Mexico. FARM-DRIVEN DEFORESTATIONThe Brazilian savanna is now a major concern for top grains traders, who have broadly pledged to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains by 2025. The sources discussed Cerrado deforestation data from Brazil's PRODES program, which produces annual data that is far more accurate than rapid alert data published on a weekly and monthly basis. An Inpe official said earlier this year that Brazil would soon stop publishing PRODES Cerrado data due to lack of funding.

REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Brazil's leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday picked a trusted ally, former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad, as his finance minister, ending days of speculation over a key ministerial appointment. Lula is set to take office on Jan. 1 after narrowly defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in October. After the nomination of Haddad, a stalwart of Lula's Workers Party (PT), Brazil's real , fell as much as 1.3% against the dollar before paring losses. As the mayor of Brazil's largest city from 2013 to 2016, Haddad renegotiated its debt with the federal government, reducing it by about 50 billion reais. Since losing his re-election bid as mayor in 2016, Haddad has described himself as a college professor on Twitter.

☆ Lula ticket sues Bolsonaro and sons for abuses during Brazil's election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's election team sued President Jair Bolsonaro, his running mate and two of his sons for abuse of power and attacks on Brazil's voting system, both during the October election campaign. The two lawsuits, filed in the electoral court, seek to ban the four men from running for office in future. During campaigning, Bolsonaro repeatedly criticized the country's electronic voting system, claiming without evidence that it was open to fraud. The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not reach the president's sons for comment.

☆ 'It hurts my soul': Brazil's Bolsonaro ends post-election silence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Bolsonaro said he had kept silent for almost 40 days, adding, "it hurts my soul." Who decides which way the armed forces go are you," Bolsonaro told his supporters at the gates of the presidential residence. In his ambiguous comments, Bolsonaro did not endorse their call for a military intervention, but said the armed forces would respect Brazil's Constitution. Bolsonaro told his supporters that the armed forces were Brazil's bulwark to prevent socialism in the country, adding that "nothing is lost" and their cause would prevail one day. "The Armed Forces are united.

☆ Reaction in Americas region to ousting of Peru's Castillo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF BRAZIL"I followed with great concern the events that led to the constitutional removal of the president of Peru, Pedro Castillo. COSTA RICA FOREIGN MINISTRY"Costa Rica deeply regrets the decision of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo regarding the dissolution of the Congress of the Republic ... because it represents a rupture in the constitutional order." EVO MORALES, FORMER PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA, ON TWITTER"Our deep concern for the political crisis affecting the sister Republic of Peru. "Beyond mistakes and successes, our brother Pedro Castillo and his family deserve humane treatment. HONDURAS FOREIGN MINISTRY"The Honduran foreign ministry energetically condemns the coup d'etat in Peru, which is the result of a series of events meant to erode democracy and the sovereign will of the people represented by President Pedro Castillo."

☆ Mexico peso seen resilient through economic slowdown in 2023: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Gabriel Burin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso will weaken only modestly in 2023 through a gathering economic slowdown as confidence in the country's moderate policies and manageable debt metrics remains high, a Reuters poll of currency strategists showed. The main challenges for the Mexican currency in the medium-term are a deteriorating economy and how Banxico, as the central bank is known, continues adapting to the U.S. Federal Reserve's anti-inflation strategy. The Mexican central bank has increased its key interest rate by 600 basis points since mid-2021 to 10.0%. read moreYear to date, the peso is up 3.9%, while the Brazilian real , has gained 5.5%. In the poll, Brazil's currency was forecast to strengthen 2.1% from this week's levels to 5.17 per U.S. dollar in one year.

☆ Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández convicted, sentenced in $1B fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina— Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández was convicted and sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for a fraud scheme that embezzled $1 billion through public works projects during her presidency. It was the first time an Argentine vice president has been convicted of a crime while in office. Argentina’s dominant leader this century, she was accused of improperly granting public works contracts to a construction magnate closely tied to her family. The panel also sentenced Báez and her public works secretary, José López, to six years. Fernández remains the singular leader of the leftist faction of the Peronist movement.

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