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☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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."

☆ 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.

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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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 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 posts record trade surplus of $62.3 bln in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazil posted a $62.3 billion trade surplus in 2022, official data showed on Monday, a record in the series started in 1989. In December, the trade surplus was $4.8 billion, said the Development, Industry, Trade and Services ministry. That exceeded the $3 billion surplus forecast in a Reuters poll with economists. The 2022 result were above the most recent expectations of the Jair Bolsonaro government, which in October had projected a trade surplus of $55.4 billion. Imports reached $21.9 billion, or 12% above the last month of 2021.

☆ 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 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Lula returns to office in a troubled, divided Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The ceremony in Congress begins at 3 p.m. (1800GMT), after which Lula will go the Planalto palace to don the presidential sash before a crowd of 30,000 supporters, while some 300,000 are expected to gather to celebrate on Brasilia's esplanade. Now, he faces the daunting challenge of improving Brazil's stagnant economy while also uniting a country that has become painfully polarized under Bolsonaro. His supporters have protested for two months that the election was stolen and called for a military coup to stop Lula returning to office in a climate of vandalism and violence. Organizers said delegations from 50 nations and 19 heads of state and governments, including the king of Spain, have confirmed their attendance. Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello, Ricardo Brito, Lissandra Paraguassu and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jailed for graft in 2018 - the year right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro was elected - Lula's convictions were overturned in 2019, allowing him to oust Bolsonaro in October's election. The more ideological Lula who emerged from jail in 2019 should not be a cause for concern, friends and allies said. Lula's spokesman Jose Chrispiniano said the president supported fiscal responsibility and believes that strengthening the economy is the best way to combat poverty. "Good morning, President Lula," his devotees would chant as the day began, followed by "Good night, President Lula," as he went to bed. From his 15-square-meter cell on the third floor of the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba, Lula set about reorganizing the PT and managing his legal defense.

☆ Brazil acting president hits out at 'silent' Bolsonaro in New Year speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Brazil's acting president, Hamilton Mourao, on Saturday criticized outgoing far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro for allowing anti-democratic sentiment to thrive in the wake of this year's election, in a veiled dig in a New Year speech. Vice president under Bolsonaro, Mourao delivered the New Year speech after taking over on Friday, when the outgoing president flew to Florida to avoid handing over the presidential sash to leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at his Jan. 1 inauguration. Bolsonaro's exit follows weeks of near silence following his defeat in Brazil's most fraught election in a generation. Mourao was elected in 2018 as Bolsonaro's running mate but was ditched in this year's election, with the outgoing president choosing former Chief of Staff Walter Braga Netto to join his defeated ticket. Mourao instead ran for Senate and secured a spot in the upper house of Congress representing the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

☆ Lula decrees extension for tax exemption on fuels in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Brazil's newly sworn-in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree on Sunday extending for 60 days an exemption for fuels from federal taxes, a measure passed by his predecessor aimed at lowering their cost. The decree was among the first batch of decisions taken by Lula hours after his inauguration as president, succeeding far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, and officially establishing his cabinet of 37 ministers. Prates said the exemption could be resumed by the new government in a "much more comfortable" way. He has said that one option under study was an extension for six months or until the end of the year for tax exemptions on diesel and liquefied petroleum gas. The extension for gasoline was opposed by sectors of the economy, such as the ethanol industry, which loses ground in its tax advantage over gasoline.

☆ Brazil’s Bolsonaro lands in Florida, avoiding handover of power to leftist Lula
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Bolsonaro’s exit from Brazil came after he repeatedly said he would not hand over the presidential sash to Lula at Sunday’s inauguration, breaking with Brazil’s democratic tradition. He may also face legal risks from remaining in Brazil as his presidential immunity expires when Lula takes office. Vice President Hamilton Mourao is now acting president after Bolsonaro left the country, his press office said. Bolsonaro’s exit follows weeks of silence, after he lost Brazil’s most fraught election in a generation. Some of Bolsonaro’s supporters have refused to accept Lula’s victory, believing his baseless claims that the October election was stolen.

☆ Brazil's Lula calls for peace at meetings with Russia, Ukraine representatives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met on Saturday with representatives of Russia and Ukraine ahead of his inauguration and called for an end to the war between the two countries. Lula, who will be sworn in on Sunday, said on Twitter he had separately met with the speaker of Russia's Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, and Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The two were in Brazil to represent their countries at Lula's inauguration and met both him and his future foreign relations minister, Mauro Vieira, according to pictures shared by the leftist leader. Lula said he told Matvienko that Brazil wishes for "peace and for the parties to find common ground to end the conflict," which began when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But Jean Paul Prates, nominated on Friday to be chief executive, has been advocating for higher investments in renewables. "Petrobras is a company for the long run and cannot just keep exploring sub-salt oil and paying dividends," Prates said in a press conference this month. Prates, a senator for the past four years, will become the first politician to hold a high-ranking office at Petrobras in several years. Petrobras, Prates and the transition team's press officer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prates has defended higher Petrobras investments in the refining sector as a way to secure Brazil's fuel supply.

☆ Next Petrobras CEO says he will change company's fuel price policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The incoming chief executive of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) said on Friday he planned to tweak the country's fuel price policy, but said investors need not worry. Prates told journalists he will change the firm's pricing policy, which pegs fuel to global oil prices, but stressed that this does not mean prices will be completely unlinked to the international market. "Petrobras' pricing policy will be changed, but not necessarily to traumatize investors," he said. The company's pricing policy was at the center of turmoil during President Jair Bolsonaro's administration. Three of Petrobras' CEOs were ousted during his term, as fuel price hikes stoked inflation and hurt his popularity.

☆ 6 climate wins from 2022 that are worth celebrating
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sweeping climate legislation passed, climate candidates won, and animals got important protections. Here are six of the year's highlights in climate progress, according to experts. But through it all, there was encouraging progress on climate that's worth celebrating. Peter B. de Menocal, president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told Insider that the event featured the first-ever Ocean Pavilion. "I want to invite other Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the world to join these collective fights happening in Amazonia," Lucitante previously told Insider.

☆ Brazil's Bolsonaro says no justification for attempted 'terrorist act' in capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends an inauguration ceremony for new judges of Brazil's Superior Court of Justice in Brasilia, Brazil December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File PhotoBRASILIA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday there was no justification for what he called an attempted "terrorist act" after police foiled a man's plan to set off an explosive device in Brasilia last week in protest against his election defeat. The outgoing far-right leader, however, tried to distance himself from George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, who was arrested for the bomb plot and told police that Bolsonaro's call to arms inspired him to get an arsenal of guns and explosives. "The man had ideas that are not shared by any citizen, but now they classify him as a 'Bolsonarista'," the president complained in a social media broadcast before leaving office. Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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