
Brazilian authorities have announced nearly 197,000 new formal jobs had been created in the month of April, according to the General Cadastre for Employed and Unemployed (Caged), released Monday by the Labor Ministry.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Monday said he would most likely create three new ministers if he is reelected this year: Public Security, Fisheries, and Foreign Trade.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife Janja tested positive Sunday for COVID-19, due to which all campaign engagements have been suspended, the candidate's press office announced.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández finally confirmed he will be attending the ninth Summit of the Americas convened for next week in Los Angeles following a 25-minute telephone conversation with his US colleague Joseph Biden, during which they also agreed on a bilateral meeting for July 25.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called on his followers Friday to be ready and spare their country from following the same paths as other South American nations in the Oct. 2 elections.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, who according to every poll is poised to win the Oct. 2 elections and thus return to the Planalto Palace, Thursday linked supporters of the incumbent head of state to the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro Socialist councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco.

Sao Paulo City health authorities have advised the citizenry Wednesday to go back to wearing facemasks in indoor settings due to the increase of COVID-19 cases recorded in recent weeks. The measure will only be mandatory in health facilities and in public transport such as buses, trains, and subways.

Brazilian rescue agents have retrieved six more bodies of people who lost their lives during last week's severe rainstorms in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, thus rising to death toll to 106, Agencia Brasil reported Tuesday. Ten others remain listed as “missing.”

Russia supports the proposal to increase membership of BRICS, the organization of the leading developing economies, but before moving in that direction there is a need to establish a consensus on access criteria.

The Brazilian government is drafting a presidential decree to change tax revenue mechanisms, which the economic team argues it will lead to a 1.5 percentage point reduction in the rates levied on all imported products. This is part of president Bolsonaro's administration policy of (gradually) opening the Brazilian economy to foreign competition.