
Brazil's central bank held fire on interest rates on Wednesday despite lackluster growth in Latin America's biggest economy and uncertainty over President Jair Bolsonaro's ability to push through a much-needed pension reform.

Former President Michel Temer was ordered to return to jail by a federal judge on Wednesday while he is investigated in several cases of alleged corruption. Temer’s lawyer, Eduardo Carnelos, told Globo Television that he could only “lament” the court’s decision. He said Temer would have to present himself to authorities Thursday.

Racism is an insignificant problem in Brazil, according to President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been accused of not just racist but also homophobic and sexist comments in the past. Bolsonaro spoke to Rede TV in an interview broadcast on Tuesday night, in which he defended his record on a number of controversial subjects.

The Brazilian Grand Prix will move next year to a new purpose-built circuit in Rio de Janeiro that could be named after Ayrton Senna, the country’s president revealed on Wednesday. Amid uncertainty over the long term future of the current event in Interlagos is Sao Paulo, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said that a switch of venues would happen in 2020 when the event moves to Rio.

Brazil expects to collect some US$ 30 billion in signing bonuses this year from three upcoming offshore oil auctions set for October and November, an official revealed this week.

Mexico will launch a criminal probe into Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA within 60 days, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said on Monday.

Brazil’s pension reform proposal returns to the congressional spotlight with a committee of lower house lawmakers opening its analysis of the government’s bill just as the outlook for the economy is deteriorating rapidly.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree on Tuesday making it easier for gun enthusiasts to own, carry and import weapons in one of the world's deadliest countries. Beaming members of Congress and industry lobbyists clapped and made pistol signs with their hands as the ex-army captain relaxed rules that critics fear could pave the way for the carrying of weapons in the streets.

The growing differences between members of the military and the so-called ideological faction of Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro’s government prompted a reaction from a retired Army High Commander--Eduardo Villas Bôas—who considers the president to be absent in the dispute and wants to limit what he sees as institutional disrespect.

Hundreds of students and professors protested against public education funding cuts outside a military high school in Brazil where far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was attending a ceremony. Bolsonaro’s conservative government sparked outrage last week when it revealed at least 30% cuts to the annual budgets of federally funded high schools and universities.