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☆ Bolsonaro contests Brazil election, demands votes be anulled
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Neither explained how that might have affected election results, but said they were asking the electoral authority to invalidate all votes cast on those machines. Diego Aranha, an associate professor of systems security at Aarhus University in Denmark, who has participated in official security tests of Brazil’s electoral system, agreed. Bolsonaro spent more than a year claiming Brazil’s electronic voting system is prone to fraud, without ever presenting evidence. Brazil began using an electronic voting system in 1996 and election security experts consider such systems less secure than hand-marked paper ballots, because they leave no auditable paper trail. But Brazil’s system has been closely scrutinized by domestic and international experts who have never found evidence of it being exploited to commit fraud.

☆ Brazil boosts forecast for 2022 budget surplus forecast to $4 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Economy Ministry forecast a 23.4 billion reais ($4.4 billion) primary budget surplus for the central government, comprising Brazil's Treasury, central bank and Social Security, up from September's estimate for a 13.5 billion reais surplus. If confirmed, the result will be further away from the official target of a 170.5 billion reais deficit for 2022. In its latest bi-monthly revenue and expenditure report, the ministry improved by 11.1 billion reais the outlook for federal net revenues this year, helped mainly by more dividends from state-owned companies. Lula's transition government is currently working on a proposal to amend the Constitution to exempt social spending from the budget cap, which should significantly worsen next year's budget balance. ($1 = 5.3517 reais)Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro gives a press statement at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, November 1, 2022. Bolsonaro's claim seems unlikely to get far, as Lula's victory has been ratified by the TSE and acknowledged by Brazil's leading politicians and international allies. Bolsonaro's right-wing electoral coalition, which filed the complaint, said its audit of the vote count had found "signs of irreparable... malfunction" in older voting machines. "There were signs of serious failures that generate uncertainties and make it impossible to validate the results generated" in several older models of the voting machines, Bolsonaro allies said in their complaint. Brazil's currency deepened losses after news of the electoral complaint, losing 1.5% against the U.S. dollar in afternoon trading.

☆ Brazil transition team asks Bolsonaro govt to halt Petrobras asset sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras FollowNov 22 (Reuters) - The transition team for Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked the current administration to halt ongoing asset sales by state-run oil giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA) until a new Mines and Energy Minister is appointed, a member of the group said on Tuesday. The remarks by Professor Mauricio Tolmasquim, tapped last week to participate in the mining and energy group of the transition process, came after a meeting in Brasilia. A second member of the team, Senator Jean Paul Prates, said that Lula was expected to make decision on who would be Petrobras' next chief executive by early December. Lula is set to take office from incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro on Jan. 1. Reporting by Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lula to start job interviews for Petrobras overhaul, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Lula, who takes office on Jan. 1, has already signaled plans for a dramatic overhaul of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), as the company is formally known. Into the dustbin, according to Lula and his advisers: the company's privatization. To pull off that reboot of Petrobras strategy, Lula plans for sweeping turnover in the company's first- and second-tier management ranks, said people familiar with his thinking. SHORT LISTAs of last week, Lula had not had any direct conversations with candidates for the top Petrobras job, according to people familiar with the matter, although a short list has taken shape. Lula's advisers also say Petrobras should steer more of its profits into investments rather than its generous recent dividends.

☆ Key takeaways from the COP27 climate summit in Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Egyptian Foreign Minister and Egypt's COP27 President Sameh Shoukry attends an informal stocktaking session during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 20 (Reuters) - This year's U.N. climate summit featured visits by world leaders, proposals by business leaders, and negotiations by nearly 200 nations about the future of global action on climate change. Natural gas chiefs were billing themselves as climate champions, despite gas companies having faced lawsuits in the United States over such claims. The leftist leader made the Egypt climate summit his first visit abroad since winning Brazil's presidential election last month against right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who presided over mounting destruction of the rainforest and refused to hold the 2019 climate summit originally planned for Brazil. U.S., CHINA RELATIONSHIP REKINDLEDA critical precursor for the climate talks' success happened far away from the Red Sea locale.

☆ Key takeaways from the COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LISBON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Saturday that fiscal responsibility was crucial but that spending to improve the country's economy and welfare was equally important. "We cannot spend more than we earn ... but we also know we can spend to do something profitable, to make the country grow, to improve (it)." Leftist Lula defeated right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a tight presidential runoff in October. Since last week, the president-elect has rattled financial markets with speeches in which he underscores the priority of social spending over fiscal responsibility. Lula said that although his party defeated Bolsonaro in last month's presidential race, far-right ideology was still very much alive in Brazil.

☆ President Jair Bolsonaro has dropped out of sight because he 'can't wear pants' due to a skin infection, Brazil's vice president says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro lost a tightly-contested presidential election last month. Since then, he has been holed up in his official residence. Brazil's vice president told O Globo that Bolsonaro hasn't left his home due to a skin infection. Mourao said that Bolsonaro, 67, who lost a tightly-contested presidential election last month, has been holed up in his official residence because of a skin infection, known as erysipelas, on his leg. He has a leg injury, a skin infection," Mourao told O Globo .

☆ Fact Check-Video of crowds gathering in Brasilia are not part of an ‘uprising’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video showing thousands of people gathered in Brazil’s capital has been falsely claimed on social media to show an uprising against the result of the October election. “Our media is ignoring the uprising against the left in Brazil,” said one Twitter user in a Nov. 16 post liked 46,000 times. Some of his supporters have refused to accept the result and have been demonstrating in the weeks since, as reported here and nL1N31Y11S . The social media video of crowds gathered, however, dates back to September (before the election) and is therefore unrelated to the election result (see here ). The video was captured before the election and therefore is unrelated to the election result.

That would surpass the October 2020 peak of 89% in the central bank series dating back to 2006. "It reduces the degree of freedom for the central bank to manage monetary policy," said Ramos. Brazil's central bank has held interest rates at 13.75% since August, after 12 straight hikes that lifted rates from a 2% record low in March 2021. Lula campaigned openly against the constitutional spending cap that limits spending growth to inflation. The proposal also removes some public investments from the cap, opening space for another 23 billion reais in public spending next year.

☆ Lula's Victory Could Boost Hopes of Saving the Amazon Rainforest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He slashed funding for environmental enforcement and halted government efforts to demarcate Indigenous' peoples lands. He is executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, a group advocating for land rights and greater representation in Brazil's government. Bolsonaro's actions legitimized an increase in violence against Indigenous peoples, Tuxá told Insider on the sidelines of COP27. A slice of the funding was set aside for securing land rights for Indigenous people. Still, nearly $2.6 billion was spent in 2021, including at least $321 million to help secure land rights for Indigenous peoples, according to progress reports.

☆ Brazil crypto law back on agenda as FTX collapse sends shockwaves
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Isabel Woodford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"If there is a good side (to the FTX disaster), it would be that it gets the law prioritized," he told Reuters on Tuesday. Brazil is one of the top 10 active markets globally for crypto, according to 2022 Chainalysis data. "If it's good for Brazilian investors, then it's a good law," he added. FTX filed for bankruptcy last week and is facing scrutiny from U.S. authorities, amid reports that $10 billion in customer assets were shifted from the crypto exchange to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research. Dagnoni told Reuters that Mercado Bitcoin, mainly active in Brazil and Portugal, had no exposure to FTX, having developed its own custody solution to store customer assets.

☆ China's BYD expands electric vehicle operation in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Alberto Alerigi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Executive Vice President of BYD and the President of BYD Americas, Stella Li poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters in Sao Paulo, Brazil November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Alberto Alerigi Jr.SAO PAULO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ) will start selling two new electric vehicle models in Brazil this month, betting on favorable political and environmental developments in Latin America's largest vehicle market, the company said. They will be imported until new factories to make them in the northeastern state of Bahia start operations. BYD expects that 10% of all vehicle sales in Brazil will be electric and hybrid models by 2025, compared to the current 2.4%, and the EV market share could jump to 30% by 2030. Li pointed to the tax burden as one of the main factors behind the high prices of electric and hybrid vehicles in Brazil compared to other markets.

☆ Talks at COP27 enter final stretch — but draft deal slammed for paving the way to ‘climate hell’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Around 35,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries are expected to convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action to tackle the climate emergency. Ahmad Gharabli | Afp | Getty ImagesAs talks at the COP27 climate summit enter the final stretch, government ministers and negotiators from nearly 200 countries are scrambling to build consensus on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency. The U.N. climate agency on Thursday published a 20-page first draft of a hoped-for final agreement. It is highly likely to be reworked in the coming days as climate envoys in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh strive to reach an overarching deal before Friday's deadline. Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the COP27 climate conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

☆ Brazil VP-elect Alckmin vows debt reduction, seeks to appease markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's incoming government will be fiscally responsible, Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin said Thursday, promising a budget surplus and reduction in public debt in effort to quell market unrest over a proposed welfare plan. "The market reaction is momentary. "The framework will be discussed," Alckmin, a former two-time governor of Brazil's Sao Paulo state. "The key issue is a tax reform," which will help spur GDP growth, he said, adding it would be approved as soon as possible, but he gave no deadline. Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Brendan O'Boyle and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SAO PAULO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian markets slumped on Thursday after the incoming administration of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proposed exempting some 175 billion reais ($32 billion) from the spending cap on next year's budget to pay for welfare programs. Lula's transition team late on Wednesday proposed to lawmakers guidelines for a constitutional amendment that would set a spending cap waiver to secure welfare programs, though without establishing how long the waiver would last. "The stock market will fall, the dollar will rise (against the real). The dollar doesn't rise and the stock market doesn't fall because of serious people, but because of those speculating every single day," he said. Helder Wakabayashi, an analyst at Toro Investimentos, said that markets would remain pressured at least until the incoming government proposes a deadline for the spending cap waiver.

☆ Fact Check-Digitally altered image of Brazil’s President-elect Lula holding satanic statue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image of Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appearing to hold a satanic statue is digitally altered. The original was posted on Lula’s Facebook page in October 2021 and showed him holding a small sculpture of himself. Other examples of the image shared on social media can be found (here), (here), and (here). The original image shows Lula holding a small figurine of himself. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .

Brazil's 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro set the stage for all major international environmental agreements since, with the signing of U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is aimed at preventing extreme climate change and was the foundation of the COP meetings. He said Lula would turn around Brazil's environmental policies "180 degrees" from those of Bolsonaro. Lula won office last month over Bolsonaro, who appointed climate skeptics as ministers and saw deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest spike to a 15-year high. On Thursday, Lula will meet with civil society and indigenous groups, as well as United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

A G20 declaration on Wednesday said "we will play our part fully in implementing" last year's Glasgow Climate Pact, under which countries pledged to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial times. "As things stand, the Glasgow Climate Pact is broken, but the G20 have the opportunity to fix it." MISSED OPPORTUNITYThe G20 declaration recognised the need to phase down use of unabated coal and phase out "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies. Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados, meanwhile, told Reuters the G20 declaration missed the mark on finance. "Unfunded ambition gets us nowhere fast," Persaud said, adding he wanted G20 countries to unlock more lending from multilateral development banks they control to help climate-vulnerable countries.

☆ COP27:Brazil's Lula says Amazon rainforest vital to global climate security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said climate change will have the highest profile in his government, and that he will prioritize efforts to fight deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. "There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," said Lula in a speech at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. "We will do whatever it takes to have zero deforestation and the degradation of our biomes." Lula said he believed the struggle against global warming was also inseparable from the struggle against poverty. Reporting by Jake Spring, William James and Gloria Dickie; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's Lula seen favoring leftist Haddad for finance minister, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Lisandra Paraguassu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Mariana Greif/File PhotoBRASILIA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Leftist former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad is emerging as the front-runner to be Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's finance minister, three sources told Reuters, although they said no final decision has yet been made. Investors, already jittery over Lula's spending plans, are eager to learn who will be Brazil's next finance minister. Lula is not expected to announce any of his ministers until early December after he returns from Egypt and Portugal trips. Markets tumbled in Brazil last week on concerns that Lula was delaying the naming of his finance minister and disregarding fiscal discipline as he studied ways to bypass the budget spending ceiling. Haddad failed in his bid to be Sao Paulo governor in last month's election, losing out to Bolsonaro's pick for the job.

☆ Fact Check-Image shows 2016 anti-government protest in Brazil, not a 2022 demonstration
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image of an anti-government protest in Brazil in 2016 is being falsely linked to demonstrations in 2022. However, the protest shown in the image took place in 2016, not 2022, as is claimed online. Reuters addressed the 2016 protests in articles here and here. There have been demonstrations against the 2022 election result (here and here). The photo was taken during anti-government protests in 2016, not 2022.

[1/2] FILE PHOTO:Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cries while speaking during a meeting with members of the government transition team in Brasilia, Brazil November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino REUTERSBRASILIA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A dust-up among aides to Brazil's president-elect over the country's choice to lead the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is fueling concern that hardcore leftists on his team are eclipsing the influence of more market-friendly moderates. As his transition team begins its work ahead of the Jan. 1 inauguration, investors are wondering which group will be more influential in steering the two-term former president's economic policy. His appointment as coordinator of Lula's transition team was seen as good news for those hoping for market-friendly policies. SEEKING TO PLEASEInvestor concern about Lula's economic plans has been growing since last week.

Lula's team also worked to secure a jungle conservation alliance announced on Monday between the three largest rainforest nations - Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. That includes pushing for rich nations with high greenhouse gas emissions to pay poor nations for historic damage the climate. Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said Lula's election would allow for renewed regional cooperation among Amazon rainforest nations to tackle deforestation, a major contributor to climate change. Lula environmental advisor Izabella Teixeira said she felt the mood about Brazil has shifted at COP27 from previous summits. "When I come to COP and meet people after the election of President Lula, there is hope," she said.

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