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☆ Lula says will invite Xi to Brazil as China trip approaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, April 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday he would invite his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to Brazil, speaking on the eve of his departure the Asian country in a bid to tighten relations between the two countries. "I am going to invite Xi Jinping to come to Brazil, for a bilateral meeting, to get to know Brazil, to show him the projects that we have of interest for Chinese investment," he said in an interview to state-owned broadcasting company EBC, adding he is planning to "consolidate" the relationship with China. "What we want is for the Chinese to make investments to generate new jobs and generate new productive assets in Brazil," Lula added. Lula's trip to China, Brazil's top trading partner, was initially scheduled for March, but was postponed after he was diagnosed with a mild pneumonia. He will meet Xi as well as Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang next Friday.

☆ Lula's government should revise Brazil's mandatory spending constraints, says Haddad
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, April 8 (Reuters) - Brazil's government should revise the rules for increasing mandatory expenses and budget constraints before the end of the year, once reform of the tax system has been decided, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said. "What we want to discuss, after the tax reform, is a rule that ends the chopping and changing, and gives greater stability to this type of spending," Haddad said in an interview published on Saturday by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. Brazilian governments permanently face spending difficulties because 95% of the federal budget is tied to obligatory expenditure, leaving only 5% for discretionary spending. When they presented the new fiscal framework that proposes limiting real growth in public spending, Treasury officials said it would be necessary to revise the floor for spending on health and education, which is currently linked to the level of government revenues, to avoid reduction in other areas. Reporting by Bernardo Caram; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rises in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, April 7 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose 14% in March from the previous year, preliminary official data showed on Friday, highlighting the continued challenges for the new leftist government. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office on Jan. 1, pledging to end deforestation after years of surging deforestation under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who slashed environmental protection efforts in the Amazon. Space research agency Inpe's data showed 356 square km (137 square miles) were cleared in the Brazil’s Amazon just last month. Washington announced at the beginning of the year it intended to contribute to Brazil's Amazon Fund, which supports conservation projects in the jungle region. Norway also pledged its support last month for Brazil's efforts to attract additional donor countries for the Amazon Fund.

☆ Uber to offer Tembici's bike-sharing service in Latin America
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, April 5 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Wednesday announced a deal with Brazilian bike-sharing company Tembici to make electric and common bicycles available on its app in Latin America amid a push for greener initiatives. "This partnership underscores the important role that car-free options are increasingly playing in Uber's strategy to achieve zero carbon emissions," said Annie Duvnjak, Uber's global micromobility general manager. The company expects to end 2023 with 30,000 bicycles on Latin American streets, a third of them electric. Uber said Tembici and Itau bike docking stations would "soon" appear in its app, but did not provide a specific date. ($1 = 5.0961 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's Bolsonaro testifies in scandal over Saudi jewelry gift
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A customs employee opens the box containing the jewelry with diamonds gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government which was seized by customs officials, at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, in Guarulhos, Brazil, March 14, 2023. One of the jewelry sets given to then First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro and valued at 16.5 million reais ($3.26 million) was seized by customs officials in the backpack of a government aide returning from Saudi Arabia. Bolsonaro returned two other gift packages after Brazil's federal audit court ordered him to do so. Several officials from the Bolsonaro administration unsuccessfully tried to recover the main jewelry present from customs at Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport, according to local media. Another gift, received from the United Arab Emirates -- a rifle and a pistol -- was handed over to the federal police.

BRASILIA, April 5 (Reuters) - A Supreme Court judge backed a government move to crack down on illegal gold mining in Brazil, suspending a legal practice of buyers accepting the origin of the precious metal with paper receipts based on the "good faith" of the seller. The injunction by Justice Gilmar Mendes gave the government 90 days to adopt a new regulatory framework for the gold trade to stop the sale of gold mined illegally from indigenous lands and other environmentally protected areas. The previous government of President Jair Bolsonaro eased environmental protections and encouraged wildcat mining in the Amazon rainforest. A surge in illegal mining on the Yanomami indigenous reservation caused disease and malnutrition that led the Lula government to declare a humanitarian crisis. The Brazilian Institute of Mining (Ibram), which represents gold mining companies such as AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (ANGJ.J) and Yamana Gold Inc (YRI.TO), as well as multinational giants such as Vale (VALE3.SA), Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) and BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX), said 20% of Brazilian gold had no declared origin in 2021, citing data from the National Mining Agency.

☆ Around the world, charges are no barrier to high office
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But charges have often not been a barrier to holding political office. Israel’s Benjamin NetanyahuIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin, March 16, 2023. The prime minister is also currently facing a corruption trial, on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. Lula has called the charges a “farce,” claiming the charges were politically motivated. Angelo Carconi/Associated PressThe flamboyant Italian tycoon was a serial prime minister until standing down in 2011.

Persons: Donald Trump, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sean Gallup, Netanyahu, Israel’s, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, Ulysses Guimarães, Andressa Anholete, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Luis Robayo, Fernández de Kirchner, ”, Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim Malaysia's, Anwar Ibrahim, Arif Kartono, Anwar, –, Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi, Angelo Carconi, Berlusconi Organizations: CNN, Trump, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brazilian, Centro de, Petrobras, Getty, Alliance of Hope, Associated, Italy’s Senate Locations: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu Israeli, Berlin, Brasilia, Brazil, America, La Plata, Argentina, AFP, Permatang, Malaysia's Penang, Malaysian, Malaysia, Rome, Italy, Italy’s

☆ Brazil targets Asian e-commerce giants, local companies in tax push
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, April 3 (Reuters) - Brazil will soon unveil tax measures, including a crackdown targeting Asian e-commerce giants and curbs on some company tax benefits, as it looks to raise more than 100 billion reais ($20 billion), Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday. The e-commerce measures come in response to complaints from local retailers about unfair competition from Asian giants such as AliExpress, Shein, and Shopee. He later told journalists that combating the practice, which Haddad called "smuggling", should generate 7 billion reais to 8 billion reais in new revenue for the government. The most significant impact will come from the government's move to seek approval from the Federal Supreme Court to disallow companies from receiving tax breaks from states on operating expenses, which result in them paying less federal tax. The tax reform proposal should be voted in the Lower House by July and in the Senate by October, Haddad said.

☆ Brazil envoy met Putin to push Ukraine peace talks - CNN Brasil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, April 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sent his top foreign policy adviser to speak to Russian leader Vladimir Putin about potential peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, CNN Brasil reported on Monday. "It would be an exaggeration to say the doors are open (to peace talks), but it's not true to say they are totally closed," the envoy Celso Amorim told CNN Brasil in an interview published on its website. Two government officials told Reuters that Amorim stopped in Paris on his way back to Brazil, but they provided no details of his engagements there. Lula has proposed creating a group of countries to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in a war that has raged for more than a year. Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Brad Haynes and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil creates rights medal named after Black writer, replacing princess
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, April 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's leftist government on Monday abolished a human rights medal that former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro had named after the daughter of the country's last monarch, replacing it with a prize named after a Black writer and abolitionist. The medal will now be named after Luiz Gama, who was a leader of the movement to abolish slavery in Brazil in the 19th Century. The government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva established a human rights ministry as soon as it took office in January and has now created the prize named after Gama. "It is not that a white person cannot be part of the anti-racist struggle, but about recognizing an abolitionist Black man as a defender of human rights," deputy minister Rita Oliveira said in a statement. Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Almost a third of Brazilians disapprove of Lula, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lula, who took office in January after narrowly defeating Bolsonaro in an election last October, has the approval of 38% of Brazilians, with 29% disapproving of his performance, according to a Datafolha survey. Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019 to the end of 2022, never formally conceded defeat to Lula. On Jan. 8, barely a week after Lula began his third term as president, Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the federal capital Brasilia to protest the election result. After about three months in self-imposed exile in the United States, Bolsonaro returned to Brazil this week. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus two percentage points.

☆ Brazil meal payments overhaul delayed by central bank standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Marcela Ayres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Finance Ministry says the central bank has jurisdiction to regulate payment systems, but sources said the central bank resisted early proposals to shake up the market and sought to keep its hands off the segment. The bank's staff believes the voucher market presents no systemic risk. The standoff has added to already high tensions between the Finance Ministry and central bank, the sources said on condition of anonymity. The central bank declined to comment on its reported resistance to regulating the market. The ministry told Reuters such regulation "goes beyond its competencies," and should be handled by the Finance Ministry and the central bank.

☆ Brazil's Lula reschedules China trip, will meet Xi on April 14 in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, March 31 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14 in Beijing, his office said on Friday, rescheduling a visit that was postponed last week after he was diagnosed with a mild pneumonia last week. Lula will leave for China on April 11 and intends to stick to the original agenda, including the signing of some 20 agreements with Brazil's largest trading partner. The trip's aim is to upgrade relations with China now that Lula is back in office and seek new Chinese investment in the Latin American country. It will still be a state visit, with meetings with Xi, the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, and an event at the National People's Assembly, Lula's presidential office said. Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Returns From Florida Exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Luciana Magalhaes | Samantha Pearson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRASÍLIA—Brazil’s conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro returned to the country Thursday for the first time since his leftist rival President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January, coming home to crowds of supporters and scores of criminal investigations. The 68-year-old army captain-turned-politician, who had been hunkered down in Florida since late December, is being investigated by the Supreme Court over prosecutors’ accusations that he incited attacks on government buildings earlier this year. Mr. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, saying he welcomes probes into what Mr. da Silva has branded a coup attempt on his government.

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.

☆ Brazil unveils new budget rules to ease market jitters on fiscal discipline
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Marcela Ayres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, March 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's Finance Ministry unveiled on Thursday a proposal for new fiscal rules to balance limits on spending growth with the government's vow to boost social programs and public investment. The new fiscal framework proposed in a Finance Ministry presentation on Thursday combines a looser spending cap with primary budget targets, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. Spending growth would also be limited to 70% of revenue growth in the prior 12 months. The primary budget target would have a margin of plus or minus 0.25 percentage points. However, the Finance Ministry recently estimated that the shortfall will be 107.6 billion reais, equal to 1.0% of GDP, helped by a jump in expected tax revenue.

☆ Bolsonaro lands back in Brazil to lead right-wing opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ton MolinaBRASILIA, March 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro returned from the United States on Thursday, welcomed back after three months by hundreds of chanting supporters at capital Brasilia's airport. Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year's election, is expected to lead the opposition to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, officials in Bolsonaro's PL party said. Supporters with Brazil flags draped around their shoulders sang the national anthem and chanted "legend" as they awaited Bolsonaro to exit the arrivals area, where security was tight. The Lula government is just doing everything wrong," said 45-year-old small business owner Anderson Clayton, wrapped in a Brazil flag. Bolsonaro left for the United States two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on Jan. 1.

BRASILIA, March 29 (Reuters) - The goal of Brazil's new fiscal framework will be a zero primary deficit in 2024, followed by surpluses in subsequent years, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seeks a sustainable trajectory for the country's public debt, government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. According to one of the sources, the primary surplus will be equivalent to 0.5% of GDP in 2024, rising to 1% of GDP in 2025. The new framework will combine a target for primary results with a spending rule and will have adjustment mechanisms in case of noncompliance. Sources spoke anonymously, as the topic is being addressed in private conversations with congressmen. Talking to reporters, Padilha said that the leaders of Brazil's Congress have indicated that, once submitted, the fiscal rules should be quickly approved.

☆ Brazil's Bolsonaro says he will not lead opposition, but will work with his party
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRASILIA, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday he will not lead the opposition to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but will collaborate with his political party, the conservative Liberal Party. "I will not lead any opposition. I will help my party as a person with experience," he said. Bolsonaro added he plans to travel across Brazil in an effort to help his party in local elections next year. Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Editing by Sarah Morland and Brendan O'BoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[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.

☆ Brazil's monetary policy director leaves office amid government uncertainty over replacement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The central bank stated in a note that Serra's departure follows the end of his term on Feb. 28. The day after Serra's departure, the director of Economic Policy, Diogo Guillen, began temporarily accumulating his function, a common practice at the central bank until substitutions are made. Supervision director Paulo Souza, whose term also expired at the end of February, remains in his current position. Under a 2021 law granting formal autonomy to the central bank, Governor Roberto Campos Neto will remain in office until December 2024. Lula, who has criticized Campos Neto and the central bank for keeping interest rates high to combat inflation, will eventually replace all nine members of the bank's board, which decides monetary policy.

☆ China to decide new date for Brazil's Lula visit, agreements postponed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said on Sunday that the Chinese government would decide on a new date for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to the country, adding that the signing of agreements between Beijing and Brasilia has been postponed. "All government actions are postponed, including those of the Agriculture Ministry," Favaro, who arrived in China last week, said during a news conference in Beijing. "When the Chinese government is ready, with an available schedule, the visit will certainly be rescheduled, and we will return to continue signing all memorandums and agreements." The minister said that agreements between Brazilian and Chinese companies are still expected to be announced on March 29. About 240 Brazilian business leaders were initially expected in China, over a third from Brazil's farm sector, which sends the majority of its beef, soybeans, and wood pulp to China.

☆ Brazil's Lula cancels trip to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRASILIA, March 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has cancelled his trip to China, which was previously scheduled for March 27-31, due to medical reasons, according to his press secretary on Saturday. The press secretary released a medical note stating that after a clinical evaluation, Lula was diagnosed with bacterial and viral bronchopneumonia caused by influenza A, and treatment has been initiated. "Despite clinical improvement, the medical service of the Presidency of the Republic recommends postponing the trip to China until the viral transmission cycle ends," the note stated. Reporting by Marcela Ayres in Brasilia Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

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