Brazil

• Thursday, July 28th 2016 - 11:23 UTC

  Uruguay will transfer Mercosur chair to Venezuela, despite objections from Brazil and Paraguay

  

  Despite objections from Brazil and Paraguay, Uruguay next Saturday 30 July will transfer to Venezuela the rotating chair of Mercosur for the second half of the year, as indicated in the “group's rules and regulations”.

• Wednesday, July 27th 2016 - 15:14 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil celebrate 25th anniversary of accord which buried nuclear rivalry

  

  Argentina and Brazil commemorated on 18 July the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Material, ABACC, which was the result of the nuclear energy exclusive peaceful use accord, signed by then presidents Carlos Menem and Fernando Collor, in Guadalajara, Mexico.

• Wednesday, July 27th 2016 - 14:01 UTC

  Rousseff and Lula will not attend Rio Olympic Games opening

  

  Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor and left-wing ally Lula da Silva will boycott the opening ceremony at the Rio Olympics, officials have said. Their absence at the 5 August ceremony highlights the political crisis in Brazil, with Rousseff facing possible removal from office in an impeachment trial shortly after the Games end.

• Wednesday, July 27th 2016 - 13:51 UTC

  Temer vetoes foreign 100% ownership of Brazilian airlines

  

  Brazil's interim President Michel Temer vetoed on Tuesday an article in a new law, which would allow foreign investors to take 100% ownership of Brazilian airlines, according to the official Gazette. The article is part of a law seeking to modify areas of the aviation sector, mainly in order to allow the state-owned airport infrastructure firm, Infraero, to restructure its debts.

• Tuesday, July 26th 2016 - 21:51 UTC

  Meirelles insists on a cap for government spending, if not taxes will have to rise

  

  Brazil's Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles has warned that if Congress does not approve a ceiling for public spending, the country will have chosen a most cumbersome path with new rounds of tax increases and higher interest rates which will further delay sustainable growth.

• Tuesday, July 26th 2016 - 21:38 UTC

  Olympics Brazilian security personnel have been trained by Israel Special Forces

  

  Next month's summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will take place under watchful eyes of 10,000 Brazilian soldiers and police officers and all have been highly trained for the job by Israelis, according to a report on the Israel NonStop website, based on details broadcast by Israeli Channel 2 television news reporter Nir Dvori.

• Monday, July 25th 2016 - 11:20 UTC

  Paraguay and Brazil reiterate “Venezuela is a non full member of Mercosur”

  

  Paraguay announced officially that it will not be attending the Common Market Council of Mercosur in Montevideo next 30 July, if the agenda includes the transfer of the group's presidency to Venezuela.

• Thursday, July 21st 2016 - 07:29 UTC

  Brazil leaves rate unchanged at 14.25%; stubborn inflation despite recession

  

  Brazil's central bank, with its recently appointed president, kept interest rates on hold for the eighth consecutive meeting on Wednesday as expected, despite a deep recession, as the new board cited concern about stubbornly high inflation and uncertainty surrounding economic reforms.

• Wednesday, July 20th 2016 - 06:54 UTC

  Half of Brazilians prefer Temer to remain as president until the 2018 election

  

  Half of Brazilians would like to see interim President Michel Temer stay in the job until the next election in 2018, compared with 32% who desire the return of suspended President Dilma Rousseff, according to a Datafolha poll published this weekend on the Folha de S.Paulo website.

• Wednesday, July 20th 2016 - 06:35 UTC

  Rousseff's great mistake was to allow Venezuela into Mercosur, says Brazilian minister

  

  Brazil committed a great mistake on supporting Venezuela to the Mercosur trade agreement back in 2012, and the country must be impeded from taking over the pro-tempore presidency of the group until it complies with all the requisites to be a full member, said Brazil's foreign minister Jose Serra.