Brazil

• Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:30 UTC

  Bolsonaro disregards public health advice while Sao Paulo struggles with a healthcare system virtually collapsed

  

  Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro again disregarded public health advice amid the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday to snap photos with lockdown protesters, as the country’s largest city of Sao Paulo struggles to keep its healthcare system afloat with public hospitals at 90 percent capacity.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 07:58 UTC

  Brazilian agribusiness exports to China booming

  

  In the first four months of this year, Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled US$31.40 billion, marking a 5.9% increase year-on-year. The growth of agribusiness exports resulted in an increase in volumes 11.1%, while the index price suffered a drop of 4.7%.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:58 UTC

  Brazil's second Health minister in a month resigns: “incompatibility” with Bolsonaro

  

  Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned on Friday after less than a month on the job over what an official said was “incompatibility” with President Jair Bolsonaro's approach to fighting the country's spiraling coronavirus crisis.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:56 UTC

  Brazilian indigenous groups at risk of decimation because of the coronavirus

  

  The coronavirus pandemic has hit 38 indigenous groups in Brazil, raising fears for populations that have a history of being decimated by outside diseases, the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples' Association (APIB) said on Friday.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:55 UTC

  Bolsonaro's erratic administration keeps Brazilian corporations from issuing fresh bonds

  

  As Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro kept his name in the headlines over the last weeks by firing ministers and attacking governors, the Supreme Court and Congress, investors fretted over the prospect of a political crisis on top of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:49 UTC

  Lula fears Bolsonaro is steering Brazil to “chaos” and “genocide”

  

  Former president Lula da Silva says he fears a “genocide” in Brazil because of fierce opposition to coronavirus containment measures by current President Jair Bolsonaro, whom he said should be impeached. Lula is a former union leader who fought Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), then became one of the country's most popular presidents with an anti-poverty crusade.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:53 UTC

  Latin America's two main economies with daily record virus cases, but also desperate to reopen activity

  

  Brazil and Mexico on Thursday reported a record one-day rise in new coronavirus cases, just as leaders of both countries intensified attempts to reopen their economies even as the spread of the virus in Latin America is seemingly gathering pace.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:52 UTC

  Brazil lowers economic outlook to minus 4,7% in 2020; pre crisis recovery level will be reached in 2022

  

  Brazil’s government lowered its 2020 economic outlook, forecasting a gross domestic product contraction of 4.7%, which would signal the country’s biggest economic crash in more than a century.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:49 UTC

  Next Monday Itaipu opens its spillway to help lift the drought stricken Parana river level

  

  The world's largest operational hydroelectric dam, Itaipu Plant announced that starting next Monday, May 18, it will open its spillway to help Paraguay and Argentina, which are suffering from a drought and hence having problems transporting their grain harvest.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 07:40 UTC

  WTO chief to step down in September: plenty of time to agree on a successor next year

  

  The World Trade Organization chief announced on Thursday he will step down on August 31, a year before his term ends, despite the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the global economy. Brazil's Roberto Azevedo said it had been a “personal decision” reached with his family, and stressed that he was not leaving to pursue “political opportunities”.