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BRASILIA, March 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year's election, returns from self-imposed exile in Florida on Thursday to lead the opposition to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro left for the United States two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on Jan. 1. His return to Brazil is eagerly awaited by the party's leader Valdemar Costa Neto, who wants Bolsonaro to become the leader of the opposition to the Lula administration and lead the PL into municipal elections next year. "Bolsonaro will lead the opposition and travel around Brazil preaching the party's liberal values and helping the PL grow," he told Reuters, outlining a plan for a right-wing comeback in the 2026 presidential elections. Barreto said her ambitions may provide an outlet for the ex-president's supporters if legal probes lead electoral authorities bar him from seeking office.

[1/3] A 3D printed Meta logo is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. If upheld, their appeals could establish jurisprudence for future cases concerning liability for internet content, at a time when social media companies are under pressure in Brazil due to a surge of political disinformation. According to Ruf, declaring it unconstitutional would increase removals of subjective content, including critical content that is important for democratic public debate. In mid-March, Brazil's government said it was planning to regulate internet platforms to reduce misinformation but also to tax platforms making money from advertising. Google Brasil lawyer Guilherme Sanchez said the company does not wait for court orders to remove content from its platforms.

[1/3] A 3D printed Meta logo is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoBRASILIA, March 28 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) defended before the Supreme Court on Tuesday a Brazilian law that holds Internet platforms are not responsible for content posted by users unless they are subject to a court order. If upheld, their appeals could establish jurisprudence that will apply to future cases concerning the responsibility for Internet content, at a time when social media companies are under pressure in Brazil due to a surge in the spread of political disinformation. Google Brasil lawyer Guilherme Sanchez said the company does not wait for court orders to remove content from its platforms. By contrast, in the same period Google received just 1,700 requests for the removal of content from its products.

☆ Lula to seek Chinese semiconductor technology, investment in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Lisandra Paraguassu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, March 24 (Reuters) - Brazil will seek Chinese technology and investment to develop a semiconductor industry in the South American country despite U.S. attempts to discourage association with China in this area, a senior presidential adviser told Reuters. Semiconductors will be a priority on President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to China next week. Lula's trip will seek Chinese cooperation in fostering Brazil's sustainable development and digital economy. We are not afraid of the big bad wolf," he commented, when asked about U.S. discouragement of technology deals with China. Lula is expected to visit the factory of Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications giant that has been operating in Brazil for 20 years.

BRASILIA, March 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva heads to China this weekend for a five-day visit to refresh relations with his country's largest export market and seek new Chinese investment in the Latin American country. "Brazil has to keep a flexible and pragmatic position in this dispute between China and the United States," said Senator Hamilton Mourao, who as Brazilian vice president met with Xi in Beijing in 2019. CHINESE INVESTMENTLula drew Brazil closer to China and traveled twice to Beijing during his two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010. Trade relations were not affected by the diplomatic storm, though Chinese investment stalled, due in part to the pandemic preventing China's executives from visiting Brazil. By 2021, investment by Chinese companies in Brazil recovered to the level of 2017, according to the China-Brazil Business Council, which forecasts steady growth in coming years.

☆ Brazil's Lula to go to China with 240 business representatives, says official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRASILIA, March 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will visit China this month accompanied by a delegation of 240 business representatives, including 90 from agriculture sector, a senior Foreign Ministry official said on Friday. Trade promotion secretary Daniel Fernandes said at a press briefing that all the government's ministries will be represented on the March 26-30 visit to Beijing and Shanghai. The ministry's Secretary for Asia, Pacific and Russia, Eduardo Saboia, said Brazil is hoping to diversify its trade relationship with China, the largest customer for Brazilian exports, mainly soy beans and iron ore. Reporting by Anthony BoadleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US would handle an extradition request for Brazil's Bolsonaro 'expeditiously' - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official declined on Wednesday at a Senate hearing to comment on the status in the United States of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, but said any such request from Brazil would be handled "expeditiously." Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the future of relations with Brazil, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said: "We would handle any request from the Brazilian government expeditiously." Committee Chairman Robert Menendez said Bolsonaro "continues to spew disinformation about Brazil's election" from Florida. The United States is expected to join the multilateral Amazon Fund to help sustainability projects in the Amazon. Following Lula's visit to Washington, the U.S government plans to make an initial donation of $50 million to the fund.

☆ Brazil to criticize Nicaragua, but wants door open to dialogue, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The concern will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the sources who helped prepare the document told Reuters on Monday. Brazilian diplomats took part in the negotiation of the declaration criticizing Nicaragua, but chose not to endorse it because it did not leave a door open for negotiations. At the same time, however, the Lula government wants to keep an open door to be a possible channel for dialogue, emphasizing that Brazil is committed to democracy and wants to play a "constructive" role in solving the crisis in Nicaragua. The report by the council's experts points to Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, the president's wife, as those responsible for the abuses. Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia Writing by Anthony Boadle Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil investigates undeclared $3 million jewelry gift to Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, March 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Monday ordered police to investigate an alleged attempt to bring in undeclared jewelry, a gift from Saudi Arabia valued at $3.2 million, to former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government were seized by customs officials at Sao Paulo's international airport in October 2021. Bolsonaro's critics said gifts to president belong to the state and must go into a presidential collection. In his only public comment on the jewelry, Bolsonaro said he was being "crucified" for a gift he never asked for and never received. ($1 = 5.2093 reais)Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] John Kerry, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate, talks with Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva during a meeting in Brasilia, Brazil February 28, 2023. Lula and U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to work together on climate change in a meeting at the White House earlier this month. Protecting the Amazon is vital to curbing climate change because of the vast quantity of greenhouse gas its trees absorb. He said that the United States was still considering how much to give to the Amazon Fund. Silva said she discussed with Kerry the possibility of opening up the United States to more sustainable sourced products from Brazil.

☆ Brazil's Lula to meet China's Xi on March 28 in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the celebrations marking the 43rd anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party, in Brasilia, Brazil February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on March 28 on Lula's first trip of his current term to his country's largest trading partner, official sources told Reuters. Lula, who visited China twice during his earlier government 2003-2010, will stay in Beijing for four days for talks on trade, investments and the war in Ukraine. I want to talk about it with President Xi Jinping. The growing economic relationship between the two countries became clear in 2004 when Lula first visited China with a large delegation that included 450 Brazilian business representatives.

BRASILIA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is taking a fresh tack in its effort to crack down on illegal gold mining in the Amazon, preparing legislation that would require electronic tax receipts for the buying and selling of the precious metal, four sources with knowledge of the plans said. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to end years of environmental backsliding under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and crack down on illegal mining in the Amazon. The central bank said the goal was to implement "a new inspection system that allows the traceability of the gold extracted, as well as the adoption of electronic invoices." The situation is so bad, Ibram says, that even the central bank does not know if the gold it buys is legal or illegal. The mining lobby has been calling for the adoption of electronic invoices to end the illegal gold trade, Ibram President Raul Jungmann told Reuters.

☆ Brazil's Lula calls Bolsonaro a Trump 'copycat' in CNN interview
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during "Power of The People" event hosted by Turning Point USA at Trump National Doral Miami Resort in Doral, Florida, U.S., February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Marco BelloWASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro a "faithful copycat" of Donald Trump and said there was no chance Bolsonaro would return to the presidency. The leftist leader told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Friday that Brazil's judiciary is investigating Bolsonaro for attacks on democracy. But Lula said he hopes the former president will be convicted of genocide by an international court for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that killed 698,000 Brazilians. Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. 8, calling for a military coup to oust Lula, in an echo of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol.

That window has been scrapped, with the ships now authorized to dock between Feb. 26 and March 3, the Brazil's foreign ministry said. A Brazilian military source confirmed that the federal government, via the foreign ministry, had shifted the dates and blocked the Iranian ships from docking. "The Iranian ships could not come during this period." A spokesperson for Brazil's foreign ministry said it was a "wrong assumption" to say Washington had pressured Brazil. Lula recoiled at U.S. sanctions on Iran and has declined to choose sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, saying Brazil is neutral and wants dialogue to reach peace.

☆ Yanomami health crisis in Brazil can only be solved by expelling miners, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The medical emergency the Yanomami people of Brazil are suffering can only be overcome if illegal gold miners that invaded their reservation are evicted, an indigenous health official said on Tuesday. We believe the reopening of medical units can only be done when the miners are all removed," Indigenous Health Secretary Ricardo Weibe Tapeba told a news conference. About 20,000 wildcat miners on the Yanomami reservation in the state of Roraima in northern Brazil have brought malaria and severe food shortages that caused the death of starving Yanomami children, he said. Some 700 patients have been airlifted to the state capital of Boa Vista and are being treated at the CASAI indigenous health center hospital and a field hospital set up there, Weibe added. Their mineral-rich lands attracted wildcat miners for decades, especially after a military government built a road through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s.

☆ Illegal miners in Yanomami reservation seek Brazil government help to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Illegal gold miners blamed for causing a humanitarian crisis on Brazil's largest indigenous reservation are asking authorities to help them leave, one of their leaders and a Brazilian senator said on Monday. In a video he posted on social media, Mesquita asked the government to unblock rivers for 10-15 days for the miners to leave the reservation in the northern state of Roraima. "What matters is that the miners leave peacefully and protected," he said. Some of the miners that are beginning to leave the Yanomami reservation are expected to head across the border into neighboring French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana. Their mineral-rich lands have attracted wildcat miners for decades, especially after a military government built a road through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s.

☆ Brazil sinks rusting old aircraft carrier in the Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Brazil sank a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean off its northeast coast, the Brazilian Navy said, despite warnings from environmentalists that the rusting 1960s French-built ship would pollute the sea and the marine food chain. The 32,000-tonne carrier had been floating offshore for three months since Turkey refused it entry to be scrapped there because it was an environmental hazard and the ship was towed back to Brazil. The Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier served the French Navy for four decades as the Foch, capable of carrying 40 war planes. It then decided to sink the Sao Paulo at high sea. The company's legal representative in Brazil, Zilan Costa e Silva, said that disposal of the carrier was the Brazilian state's responsibility under the 1989 Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.

☆ Brazil senator says he attended election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Brazilian senator said on Thursday that a close ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro tried to persuade the senator to join a conspiracy to overturn the far-right leader's electoral loss last year. Senator Marcos do Val told a news conference that he had been invited to a meeting on Dec. 9 with then-President Bolsonaro by his associate, former lawmaker Daniel Silveira. At the meeting, Silveira asked the senator to try to get the head of the electoral court to make compromising comments in a taped conversation that could lead to the judge's arrest, Val said. The senator told reporters that Bolsonaro "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge running Brazil's top electoral authority (TSE). Silveira told the former president that Val, a Bolsonaro supporter, could be trusted and asked Bolsonaro to present "the idea that would save Brazil" to him, according to the Veja report.

☆ 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.

☆ Brazil's Lula cold-shoulders Germany's Scholz on Ukraine support
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hold a joint news conference at the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil January 30, 2023. It was the third time on his South American tour that Scholz failed to rally strong support for the Ukrainian war effort. "I think Russia made the classic mistake of invading another country's territory, so Russia is wrong," Lula told reporters. Lula said Brazil would not provide ammunition to Ukraine for German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns, as reportedly requested by Germany. Lula said Brazil will work with other countries to help achieve peace in Ukraine, as his country has not taken sides.

☆ 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 Lula proposes Mercosur trade deal with China after EU accord
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that he favored an agreement between Mercosur and China in a plan to modernize and open the South American trade bloc to other regions. On a visit to Uruguay to dissuade its government from reaching a deal on its own with China, which would undermine the Mercosur customs union, Lula said the long-awaited Mercosur accord with the European Union must be completed urgently. "We want to sit down as Mercosur and discuss with our Chinese friends the Mercosur-China agreement," Lula said, adding that China is Brazil's biggest trading partner. Talks for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement were completed in 2019, but environmental concerns stalled the deal before it was approved by the legislatures of the EU member states. Uruguay's President Lacalle Pou said that his country needed to open up its economy to the world and it could discuss parallel trade arrangements outside of Mercosur.

☆ 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."

☆ 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.

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