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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 31st 2025 - 23:13 UTC

Brazil

  • Friday, May 11th 2018 - 08:50 UTC

    Brazil inflation in April below official target; another interest rate cut expected

    The central bank targets a year-end inflation rate of 4.5%, plus or minus 1.5 percentage point, which it undershot last year for the first time ever.

    Brazil's inflation rate unexpectedly slowed in April and kept far below the official target, suggesting a recent period of currency weakness is unlikely to keep the central bank from cutting interest rates next week.

  • Friday, May 11th 2018 - 08:35 UTC

    Paraguay's president “soul brother” accused by Brazil of money laundering

    A Brazilian financial crimes prosecutor on Wednesday accused the president's friend, Dario Messer, of money laundering and criminal association.

    Paraguayan authorizes have issued an arrest warrant for a man President Horacio Cartes has described as his “soul brother” as part of a sweeping investigation into corruption in Latin America.

  • Thursday, May 10th 2018 - 08:28 UTC

    Swedish PM to testify in corruption case involving sale of 36 fighter jets to Brazil

    Lofven will be asked in a Swedish court about contacts with Brazil’s ex presidents Rousseff and Lula da Silva regarding the purchase of Saab Gripen fighters

    Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has been summoned to testify next month as a witness in a Brazilian corruption case involving the purchase of fighter jets by Brazil, the Stockholm District Court said on Wednesday. Lofven will be asked in a Swedish court about his contacts with Brazil’s former presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva regarding the country’s purchase of Saab Gripen fighters in a deal struck five years ago.

  • Wednesday, May 9th 2018 - 08:44 UTC

    Brazilian ex chief Justice will not run for the presidency in October

    That is an essential selling point in this election, the first since a massive legal probe revealed stunning levels of political graft. Scores of powerful businessmen and politicians have been jailed,

    Joaquim Barbosa, a former chief justice on Brazil's Supreme Court with anti-corruption credentials, said on Tuesday he would not run for the presidency in October, despite a growing clamor for his candidacy. Barbosa, the first and only black member of the high court, had in recent weeks positioned himself as a potential center-left candidate. He was attractive to many because of his clean image and background as a judge who battled corruption.

  • Wednesday, May 9th 2018 - 08:19 UTC

    Brazilian farmers optimism sky high with increasing grain prices and cheap credit

    Brazil’s past two soy crops set all-time records with farmers likely to boost investment and improve efficiency.

    Farm equipment manufacturers in Brazil are expecting g on strong sales this year, boosted by a second straight bumper soy crop and rising grain prices, which will more than offset weakness in the sugar cane sector, they said at a major trade show. Some machinery producers are forecasting sales growth as high as 8% in 2018 as farmers’ confidence rises and record-low interest rates encourage them to borrow and invest.

  • Tuesday, May 8th 2018 - 08:48 UTC

    Brazil's first lady saves her drowning dog jumping into a lake fully clothed

    The tiny pooch Picoly was able to get himself into the lake, but he struggled to get back out

    Brazil's first lady has jumped into a lake fully clothed to save her drowning dog. Marcela Temer was walking around the presidential palace in Brasilia with her son when the family's Jack Russell, Picoly, took an interest in the water.

  • Tuesday, May 8th 2018 - 07:18 UTC

    Odebrecht corruption in Argentina: all changed when ex president Kirchner died

    The Odebrecht official revealed that the president of the Argentine Construction Chamber, Carlos Wagner, was interlocutor of the agreement

    A leading manager of the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht involved in corrupting government officials in virtually all Latin American countries revealed that millions of dollars in kickbacks were delivered in Argentina to pay for the natural gas pipelines network expansion contract.

  • Saturday, May 5th 2018 - 09:05 UTC

    Brazilian recovery stalls as industrial output falls 0.1% in March

    The figures mark the third straight month of weaker-than-expected output from Brazilian industry, which had previously led the economy's rebound.

    Industrial output in Brazil contracted unexpectedly in March, the latest in a string of weak data suggesting a recovery in Latin America's largest economy hit a bump in the first quarter. Production fell 0.1% from February, government statistics agency IBGE announced.

  • Friday, May 4th 2018 - 08:25 UTC

    Brazil's highest court limits privileges and “impunity” of federal lawmakers

    The protection known as “privileged standing” allows thousands of politicians to have cases against them tried in higher courts than a normal citizen would.

    Brazil's highest court voted on Thursday to restrict a legal protection afforded to federal lawmakers that critics say has resulted in impunity, as the country grapples with massive official corruption. The protection known as “privileged standing” allows tens of thousands of politicians to have cases against them tried in higher courts than a normal citizen would.

  • Friday, May 4th 2018 - 08:21 UTC

    Brazilian Agriculture minister formally accused of 2009 bribery scheme

    Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge filed charges at the Supreme Court against Minister Blairo Maggi

    Brazilian prosecutors filed charges against the country’s Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi on Wednesday, accusing him of orchestrating a bribery scheme in 2009 when he was governor of Mato Grosso state. Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge filed charges at the Supreme Court, according to a written statement from the federal prosecutor’s office.