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☆ Brazil readies task force to expel miners from Yanomami lands, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A village of indigenous Yanomami is seen during Brazil's environmental agency operation against illegal gold mining on indigenous land, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in Roraima state, Brazil April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File PhotoBRASILIA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Brazil is preparing a task force of armed forces, police and government agencies to expel illegal gold miners who invaded the Yanomami indigenous reservation, officials said on Tuesday. Defense Minister Jose Mucio said the military is needed to drive out the miners, who are well armed and have helicopters. Wapichana said the task force, as in past offensives against illegal miners, will involve the Federal Police, environmental protection agency Ibama, Funai and several ministries, as well as the military. Wapichana said the government will move against the organized crime and financial groups that supply and fund the illegal mining, and launder the gold.

☆ 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.

On the final leg of his South American tour, Scholz on Monday became the first foreign leader to visit Lula since his inauguration. But he grew stony-faced as his fellow leftist leader expounded his views on the Ukraine war. Lula also said Brazil would not provide ammunition to Ukraine for German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns, as reportedly requested by Germany. In both countries, Scholz visited memorials to the victims of their military dictatorships that he said underscored the need to fight for democracy and freedom. In Brasilia, he expressed his full solidarity for Lula and Brazil at large after Bolsonaro supporters earlier this month stormed government buildings.

☆ Brazil's government eyes compensation deal for 2015 Vale-BHP dam burst
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's government will try to reach a deal "as soon as possible" on compensation for the 2015 burst of a tailings dam owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale (VALE3.SA) and BHP <BHP.AX>, Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha said on Friday. In a news conference in Brasilia, Padilha said the matter had been discussed at a meeting with state governors earlier in the day. "We will try and reach this compensation agreement as soon as possible in light of the environmental crime that was committed in Mariana," Padilha said. In late 2021, a study done by a company contracted by prosecutors showed the "socio-environmental" damage caused by the dam rupture was between 37.6 billion reais ($7.35 billion) and 60.6 billion reais ($11.85 billion). ($1 = 5.1126 reais)Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Isabel Woodford and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's central govt posts 54.1 bln reais surplus in 2022, first in 9 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The central government, comprising Brazil's Treasury, central bank and Social Security, posted a 54.1 billion reais ($10.7 billion) budget surplus before interest payment in 2022. It followed a 4.4 billion reais surplus in December, which came higher than the 2.8 billion reais expected in a Reuters poll. Private economists polled weekly by the central bank expect 2022 GDP to rise 3%, from just 0.3% they had forecast when last year began. Surging expenses led the primary deficit budgeted for 2023 to reach impressive 232 billion reais. ($1 = 5.0783 reais)Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Mark Porter and Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil Justice Moraes fines Telegram for not complying with court order
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes fined on Wednesday messaging app Telegram for failing to comply with a court order that called for the suspension of accounts of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Telegram will be fined 1.2 million reais ($236,527), the decision said. Moraes gave Telegram five days to pay the fine from the day of the decision. In March 2022, Moraes ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram, saying it had repeatedly refused to adhere to judicial orders to freeze accounts spreading disinformation. The suspension was revoked days later, after the company complied with court requests.

☆ Brazil's Yanomami region looks like ‘concentration camp,’ says official
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“It looks like a concentration camp,” Tapeba, a doctor appointed to the position by Brazil’s new government, said in a radio interview. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, visits the Yanomami Indigenous Health House (Casai) in the Boa Vista rural area, Roraima state, Brazil, on Saturday. “It’s an extreme calamity, many Yanomami are suffering from malnutrition and there is a total absence of the Brazilian state,” Tapeba said. This can only be resolved by removing the gold miners and that can only be done by the armed forces,” he said. Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the removal of the gold miners.

☆ Analysis: Lula confronts Brazil military's pro-Bolsonaro lean with carrot and stick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But at a Friday meeting the commanders of the armed forces, Lula did not bring up the attack, according to a government official who witnessed the meeting. The armed forces' strategic plans to modernize its equipment included developing a nuclear-powered submarine contracted with France's Naval Group, a subsidiary of defense contractor Thales (TCFP.PA). GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLEWhether a splurge on military hardware will help tamp down pro-Bolsonaro sentiment in the armed forces is open to question. "Lula wants this to go away as soon as possible," he added. "Starting to punish members of the armed forces for what happened may be legally the right thing to do but politically it would open a Pandora's box."

☆ Explainer: What Brazil and Argentina's 'currency union' really means
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Marcela Ayres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Brazil and Argentina sparked some excitement on Sunday over the possibility of a potential "currency union", though the two countries are unlikely to ditch the real or peso any time soon. That sparked off chatter about a European Union-style zonal currency for South America, though officials have since played that down and analysts say a full-on currency union is a distant prospect. Under the plan, the Brazilian real and Argentine peso would continue to exist, with the new tender targeted narrowly at trade. That is key for Argentina, which is grappling with low foreign currency reserves after years of debt crises. In 2019, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro touted plans for a currency union, which also never materialized.

☆ Brazilian Riot Investigators Probe Possible Crimes Against Democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Luciana Magalhaes | Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRASÍLIA—It was supposed to have been a peaceful day, though police expected demonstrations on the vast, grassy Esplanade where Brazil’s three branches of power are located. Adilson Paz said goodbye to his two teenage boys and headed to work as chief of the legislative police at the modernist lower house of Congress. He said he thought he would be home by dark that Sunday, Jan. 8.

☆ Brazil declares emergency over deaths of Yanomami children from malnutrition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's ministry of health has declared a medical emergency in the Yanomami territory, the country's largest indigenous reservation bordering Venezuela, following reports of children dying of malnutrition and other diseases caused by illegal gold mining. In four years of Bolsonaro's presidency, 570 Yanomami children died of curable diseases, mainly malnutrition but also malaria, diarrhea and malformations caused by mercury used by wildcat gold miners, the Amazon journalism platform Sumauma reported, citing data obtained by a FOIA. Lula visited a Yanomami health center in Boa Vista in Roraima state on Saturday following the publication of photos showing children and elderly men and women so thin their ribs were visible. In recent violent incidents, men on speed boats on the rivers have shot with automatic weapons at indigenous villages whose communities oppose the entry of gold miners. Lula said the new government will put an end to illegal gold mining as it moves to crack down on illegal deforestation in the Amazon, which surged to a 15-year high under Bolsonaro.

☆ Lula replaces Brazil's army commander, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Lisandra Paraguassu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired the army commander, General Julio Cesar de Arruda, on Saturday, a source with knowledge of the matter said. His replacement will be General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, army commander of the southeast, the source said. Brazil's army and the Ministry of Defense did not immediately comment on the matter. Lula said this week that intelligence services failed on Jan. 8, when government buildings in Brasilia were stormed by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula has said recently that his government would purge hardcore Bolsonaro loyalists from the security forces.

☆ Brazil’s army chief fired in the aftermath of capital uprising
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with security forces as they raid the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, 08 January 2023. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired Brazil's army chief Saturday just days after the leftist leader openly said that some military members allowed the Jan. 8 uprising in the capital by far-right protesters. The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said Gen. Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. The video claimed Lula wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority. Lula has been trying to reduce the high number of military officers in the government administration left by Bolsonaro.

☆ Brazil police raid governor's house over capital riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The raid targeted Rocha's house and workplaces, police said. Rocha was not on site during the raid, which was followed by lawyers from his defense team. This raid it is unnecessary and fruitless," his lawyer Cleber Lopes said, adding that the governor had no connection to the violence. The operation drew criticism from lawyers, as Rocha was head of the Brazilian Bar Association before he became governor. It included 24 warrants covering five states and the capital Brasilia, it said in a statement.

☆ Brazil defense minister says military not directly involved in Brasilia riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Brazil Minister of Defense Jose Mucio said on Friday that the country's armed forces were not directly involved in the riots by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed government buildings calling for a coup. Mucio met on Friday with Lula and the commanders of the armed forces aiming to reduce tensions. He said the riots were not discussed and the meeting focused on plans for military procurement and investments in Brazil's defense industry, with business leaders present, the minister said. "I understand that there was no direct involvement of the Armed Forces, but if anyone was personally involved (in the riots) that will be investigated," Mucio told reporters after the meeting. The storming of government building will not happened again "because the Armed Forces will anticipate it," Mucio said.

☆ Lula: Brazil's intelligence services failed ahead of Brasilia pro-Bolsonaro riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday his intelligence services had failed on Jan. 8, when Brasilia buildings were stormed by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. “We made an elementary mistake: my intelligence did not exist (that day),” Lula told TV channel GloboNews in an interview. The president stressed he would like to maintain civilized relations with Brazil’s armed forces but noted they must not be politicized. The Brazilian insurrection resembled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The Brazilian president said he was also set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brazil later this month, as Reuters first reported last month.

☆ Brazilians work to restore relics damaged in Congress riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A restorer in Brazil's capital gently scrapes off dirt from an ornate vase, just one of the relics damaged earlier this month when right-wing rioters stormed the country's most important institutional headquarters. Supporters of Brazilian far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded and defaced the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court on Jan. 8. Rioters threw furniture through the smashed windows of the presidential palace, flooded parts of Congress with a sprinkler system, and ransacked ceremonial rooms in the Supreme Court. As soon as Sa's team was able to enter the buildings, they collected whatever they could to put some of the relics back together. "Assets inside the (presidential) palace are the history of Brazilian art itself, the history of Brazil."

☆ Facebook approved ads promoting violence in wake of Brazil riots, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoLONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Facebook approved a series of online ads promoting violence in Brazil, days after protesters ransacked government buildings, according to a new report. However, four days after the uprising, human rights organisation Global Witness found Facebook was still allowing ads containing death threats and other calls to violence on its platform. Using fake accounts, the group submitted 16 bogus ads to run on the platform, 14 of which were approved for publication. Global Witness said it withdrew the ads from Facebook before any other users could see them. “In the aftermath of the violence in Brasilia, Facebook said they were ‘actively monitoring’ the situation and removing content in violation of their policies.

☆ Brazil presents charges against Jan. 8 pro-Bolsonaro riot participants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Brazil — The office of Brazil’s prosecutor-general has presented its first charges against some of the thousands of people who authorities say stormed government buildings in an effort to overturn former President Jair Bolsonaro’s loss in the October election. More than a thousand people were arrested on the day of the Jan. 8 riot, which bore strong similarities to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Congress by mobs who wanted to overturn former President Donald Trump’s loss in November’s election. “The ultimate objective of the attack ... was the installation of an alternative government regime.”Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro rifle through papers on a desk after storming the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on Jan. 8. Eraldo Peres / APThe attackers were not charged with terrorism because under Brazilian law such a charge must involve xenophobia or prejudice based on race, ethnicity or religion. The prosecutor-general’s office sent its charges to the Supreme Court after the Senate’s president, Rodrigo Pacheco, last week provided a list of people accused of rampaging through Congress.

☆ Fact Check-Source code behind Brazil’s voting machine was released for external inspection in October 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Social media users have falsely claimed that the source code behind Brazil’s electronic voting machines was not made available for external inspection and that it is being hidden because it proves fraud. One user shared a clip of protesters gathered in front of the National Congress in Brasilia with a caption that reads: “All we want is the source code from the voting machines. The code was made available for inspection to several supervisory bodies, including the country’s Armed Forces, Federal Police, accredited non-profit organizations and Brazilian Bar Association (here). The source code behind Brazil’s voting machines was released for inspection by external bodies in October 2021 – a year before the election. A report by the country’s Armed Forces found no problems with the October 2022 vote, but did say there were vulnerabilities in the code that could be exploited.

☆ Brazil antitrust agency to investigate MercadoLibre complaint against Apple
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The decision to open the investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by Apple was taken last week based on the complaint filed in December by MercadoLibre, CADE said in a statement. MercadoLibre argued that Apple had imposed a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases. MercadoLibre filed its complaint in Brazil and also Mexico. CADE said antitrust cases against Apple are underway around the world, including in the European Union, Britain, South Korea, Japan, India and Indonesia. Nasdaq-listed MercadoLibre is one of Latin America's largest companies, with a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Brazil's Lula says intelligence services failed ahead of Brasilia riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday his intelligence services had failed on Jan. 8, when Brasilia buildings were stormed by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. "We made an elementary mistake: my intelligence did not exist (that day)," Lula told TV channel GloboNews in an interview. "We have Army intelligence, Air Force intelligence, ABIN (Brazil's Intelligence Agency); none of them warned me." The Brazilian insurrection resembled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The Brazilian president said he was also set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brazil later this month, as Reuters first reported last month.

☆ Brazil's Lula removes soldiers from guarding presidential residence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has removed 40 troops guarding the presidential residence after expressing distrust in the military for failing to act against demonstrators that ransacked government buildings on Jan. 8. Most of the troops guarding the Alvorada palace, as the presidential residence is called, are from the army, but some are also members of the Navy, Air Force and a militarized police force. The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who would replace the troops guarding the residence. Several thousand Bolsonaro supporters stormed the Congress, the Planalto presidential palace and the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the result of the October election narrowly won by Lula. There were many people from the armed forces who were complicit," Lula told journalists.

[1/5] Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as security forces operate, outside Brazil?s National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, January 8, 2023. Launched in November 2020 and run by Brazil's central bank, Pix is free of charge for individuals, allowing them to instantly transfer money to others via online banking apps. Since its launch, over 133 million Brazilians and almost 12 million companies have made or received Pix transfers, according to the central bank. INVESTIGATIVE TRAILPolice, money-laundering experts and central bank officials said Pix donations will be central to investigators' efforts to uncover who orchestrated the insurrection. Pix transfers are covered by bank secrecy laws, and police can only access a suspect's transaction history with judicial authorization.

☆ Former Bolsonaro Minister Arrested in Probe Over Brazil Riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRASÍLIA—The Brazilian official in charge of the capital’s security at the time of Sunday’s riots surrendered to police Saturday morning as judicial authorities investigate what they say are a web of suspects intent on overthrowing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva . Anderson Torres, who previously was justice minister under the right-wing government of former President Jair Bolsonaro , arrived in Brasília shortly after 7 a.m. from the U.S., where he had been on vacation since last week.

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