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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 3rd 2025 - 12:48 UTC

Brazil

  • Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:07 UTC

    Petrobras corruption probe encroaching President Rousseff; party's treasurer arrested

    The arrested ruling Workers Party treasurer, Vaccari Neto, has been charged with receiving “irregular donations” for the party, from Petrobras contractors

    A widening investigation into alleged corruption at Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras took a step closer to President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday when police arrested the ruling party’s treasurer, João Vaccari Neto, who has been charged with receiving “irregular donations” for the Workers’ Party, or PT, from some of the oil company’s suppliers.

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2015 - 07:46 UTC

    Brazil's economy expected to contract 1% as challenges remain unaddressed, says IMF report

    “Private sector sentiment remains stubbornly weak because of unaddressed competitiveness challenges and the fallout from Petrobras investigation”

    The International Monetary Fund expects Brazil's economy to contract by one percent this year, it said Tuesday, slashing its previous forecast of 0.3% growth. The world's seventh-largest economy is being hit by inflation, private-sector doldrums and a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras, the IMF said in its latest forecast.

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2015 - 07:37 UTC

    Brazil raises estimates of corn and soybean harvests, helped by late rainfall

    While early-sown soybeans were hit by a “scarcity of rainfall”, precipitation arrived in time for the flowering and grain-filling period for later planted crop.

    Brazil raised estimates for both its corn and soybean harvests, citing rains which had come in time to boost yields of later planted crops, besides boosting expectations for safrinha corn. The official Conab crop bureau lifted by 1.0m tons to 94.3m tons its estimate for Brazil's soybean production in 2014-15, as late rainfall helped results “surprise positively” in particular in central areas.

  • Monday, April 13th 2015 - 09:08 UTC

    Hundreds of thousands take to the streets of Brazil to protest against Rousseff

    Police put turnout at 682,000 people who marched in 195 cities, while organizers gave a total estimate of 1.5 million, half of them in Sao Paulo business center

    Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Sunday, venting anger over government corruption and a souring economy a month after protests gathered more than a million people. With cries of “Dilma out” and “corrupt government,” marchers -- many wearing the yellow and green jerseys of the national football team -- called for President Dilma Rousseff's ouster and an end to impunity for corruption.

  • Monday, April 13th 2015 - 08:17 UTC

    Uruguay/Brazil meeting to attempt an advance in Mercosur/EU trade talks

    Rodolfo Nin Novoa revealed to the Uruguayan congress that this week he will be meeting with his counterpart and Mauro Vieira in Brasilia

    Uruguay and Brazil foreign ministers Rodolfo Nin Novoa and Mauro Vieira will be meeting this week in Brasilia in yet another attempt to push forward the stalled negotiations for a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, according to the minutes of a meeting of the Uruguayan official with members of the Foreign Affairs committee.

  • Sunday, April 12th 2015 - 08:06 UTC

    Obama announces Brazilian president Rousseff visit to Washington on June 30

    Obama made the announcement on Saturday during a bilateral meeting with Rousseff, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City.

    US President Barack Obama announced that Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff will visit Washington on June 30, almost two years after she cancelled a trip over a US spying scandal. Obama made the announcement during a bilateral meeting with Rousseff, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City.

  • Saturday, April 11th 2015 - 13:05 UTC

    Brazil's anti-corruption drive nets three former lawmakers

    “The investigation is only beginning,” said prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima, adding that other Petrobras departments would be investigated.

    Brazilian police arrested on Friday three former congressmen broadening their corruption investigation beyond state-run oil giant Petrobras to state lender Caixa Economica Federal and the federal health ministry.

  • Friday, April 10th 2015 - 05:26 UTC

    Fitch Ratings lowered Brazil's investment grade outlook to negative

    “Brazil's three-year growth average of only 1.5%, compared to the 'BBB' median of 3.2%, highlights the structural nature of the under-performance,”

    Fitch Ratings lowered Thursday the outlook on Brazil's investment grade BBB rating to negative, warning that government efforts to turn around the economy risked getting derailed. The Brazilian economy, the world's seventh-largest, stagnated with just 0.1% growth last year as the drag of rising inflation erased the effect of hosting the football World Cup in June and July and gearing up for the Rio Olympics next year.

  • Friday, April 10th 2015 - 05:24 UTC

    Rousseff declares Petrobras 'clean' after purging corrupt managers and practices

    ”Petrobras is still standing. It has cleaned up what it had to clean up and got rid of those who took advantage of their positions to enrich themselves,'' Rousseff said

    Brazil's State-run oil company Petrobras has purged corrupt managers and put a graft scandal behind it, while hitting record output levels from offshore deposits, President Dilma Rousseff said Thursday. The indictment of former senior executives of Petrobras the investigation of dozens of political allies of Rousseff in the multibillion-dollar kickback scandal has thrown her government into crisis and undermined investor confidence in Brazil.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2015 - 04:24 UTC

    Royal Dutch Shell buys BG Group for £47 Billion. Becomes main foreign oil producer in Brazil

    Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell and Andrew Gould, Chairman of BG Group shake hands as Shell and BG their takeover deal at the London Stock Exchange

    Oil and gas company Shell has agreed to buy British rival BG Group for the equivalent of 70 billion dollars, making Europe's largest oil company the pre-eminent player in global natural gas and adding world-class fields in Brazil. The deal may signal a new wave of mega-mergers as the energy industry tries to adapt to lower prices.