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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 21st 2026 - 21:41 UTC

Brazil

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 22:44 UTC

    Brazil’s central bank starts easing cycle, cuts Selic rate to 14.75%

    The decision comes as Brazil combines softer inflation with signs of slower economic growth

    Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday cut the Selic benchmark rate from 15% to 14.75% a year, marking the first reduction since May 2024 and the formal start of an easing cycle that policymakers had already flagged. In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee, or Copom, said the move was consistent with its strategy to bring inflation back to target and noted that the external environment had become “more uncertain” because of the intensification of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.

  • Saturday, March 14th 2026 - 16:07 UTC

    Experts say BR privatization weakened Brazil’s ability to contain fuel prices

    Petrobras lost control of BR Distribuidora in July 2019, and the full privatization was completed two years later under then president Jair Bolsonaro

    According to a report by Agência Brasil, industry specialists and oil-sector groups say what they describe as abusive fuel price increases in Brazil are not explained by international volatility alone. The report cites cases of gasoline being sold for R$9 a liter at some stations in São Paulo and links part of the distortion to the loss of state control over the distribution chain after the privatization of BR Distribuidora.

  • Saturday, March 14th 2026 - 03:45 UTC

    Bolsonaro moved to intensive care with bronchopneumonia as family renews house arrest plea

    Doctors have ruled out surgery for now and said Bolsonaro is expected to remain hospitalized for several days

    Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted on Friday to the intensive care unit of Brasília’s DF Star hospital after being transferred from prison with high fever, low oxygen saturation, sweating and chills. The medical bulletin said tests confirmed bilateral bacterial bronchopneumonia and that the former president is receiving intravenous antibiotics and non-invasive clinical support.

  • Wednesday, March 11th 2026 - 03:55 UTC

    Lula withdraws from Kast inauguration amid presence of Flávio Bolsonaro

    The reversal came hours after it emerged that Flávio Bolsonaro, a likely challenger to Lula in October’s presidential election, would attend the event as a guest

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has canceled a planned trip to Chile to attend José Antonio Kast’s inauguration on Wednesday and will instead be represented at the ceremony by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Brazilian officials said the change was due to “scheduling reasons.”

  • Wednesday, March 11th 2026 - 03:00 UTC

    Brazil’s Supreme Court authorizes Trump adviser to visit Bolsonaro in prison

    Beattie was appointed in late February to a senior State Department role dealing with Brazil

    Brazil’s Supreme Court has authorized Darren Beattie, a Trump administration adviser focused on Brazil, to visit former President Jair Bolsonaro in prison on March 18, in another sign of how far Bolsonaro’s legal case has spilled into the international arena. The decision was issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the cases related to the attempt to overturn the 2022 election and Bolsonaro’s conviction for plotting against the democratic order.

  • Tuesday, March 10th 2026 - 00:29 UTC

    Lula warns Brazil must be ready to defend itself amid rising global tensions

    “If we are not prepared to defend ourselves, at any moment we could be invaded,” Lula said during Ramaphosa’s official visit

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned Monday that the country must be prepared to defend itself against potential external threats, as global geopolitical tensions intensify, during a joint appearance with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Brasília.

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 10:56 UTC

    Women’s Day rallies in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay focused on femicide, austerity and public funding

    With banners reading “Not all of us made it” and “Not one more daughter, not one more broken mother,” they denounced the daily femicides in Mexico City

    International Women’s Day rallies in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay this weekend produced a shared Southern Cone agenda: opposition to gender-based violence, demands for sustained public policies and warnings about the impact of economic strain and state cutbacks on women’s lives. In Brazil, the message centered on rising femicide; in Argentina, on a strike-backed protest against President Javier Milei’s austerity drive; and in Uruguay, on demands for more funding to enforce gender-violence laws and renewed attention to vicarious violence.

  • Wednesday, March 4th 2026 - 22:50 UTC

    Brazil completes its legislative process and ratifies the EU–Mercosur deal

    Brazil’s ratification strengthens Mercosur’s internal momentum after Uruguay and Argentina recently moved the deal through their own parliaments

    Brazil’s Congress on Wednesday ratified the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the legislative step in the South American bloc’s largest economy. The Senate approved the treaty unanimously, after the lower house cleared the text last week, according to local reporting and wire-service coverage.

  • Wednesday, March 4th 2026 - 03:18 UTC

    Paraguay steps up intelligence and financial controls in the Tri-Border Area amid Middle East tensions

    Pereira said the focus is on tighter oversight of “illicit financing” and on preventing the “infiltration of extremist groups,” with counterterrorism and anti–money laundering efforts

    Paraguay’s government has activated intelligence, prevention and financial-control measures in the Tri-Border Area it shares with Argentina and Brazil amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to Internal Security Vice Minister Óscar Pereira.

  • Tuesday, March 3rd 2026 - 02:42 UTC

    Haddad says Iran conflict should not immediately hit Brazil’s economy

    Haddad argued that Brazil is in a “very good moment” for attracting investment. He said that even if short-term turbulence emerges, it should not affect macroeconomic variables

    Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday that U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran should not have an immediate impact on Brazil’s macroeconomic indicators, while cautioning that the conflict’s trajectory remains hard to predict and is being monitored “carefully” by his ministry.