Brazil

• Tuesday, March 25th 2025 - 10:15 UTC

  Lula arrives in Japan to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic ties

  

  Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and First Lady Janja were welcomed by Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Tuesday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, marking the start of the South American leader's state visit to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Brazil arguably hosts the largest Japanese-descendant population outside Japan with around 2 million people, while Japan is home to the fifth largest Brazilian community abroad, with around 200,000 people.

• Monday, March 24th 2025 - 10:30 UTC

  Rousseff to stay at BRICS Bank helm for 5 more years after Moscow's nod

  

  Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will remain at the helm of the BRICS bloc's Shanghai-based New Development Bank following Vladimir Putin's green light, Agencia Brasil reported citing Brasilia's newly-appointed Secretary for Institutional Relations Gleisi Hoffmann. Rousseff's term was to end in July this year.

• Monday, March 24th 2025 - 08:07 UTC

  STF Justice Dino too votes against Bolsonarist Congresswoman Zambelli

  

  Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Flávio Dino Sunday added a nail to Congresswoman Carla Zambelli's legal coffin by voting in favor of sentencing her to five years and three months in addition to losing her seat in Parliament for the illegal possession of a firearm and illegal restraint with the use of a firearm, Agência Brasil reported.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2025 - 10:23 UTC

  Brazil's STF gives three thumbs down to Bolsonarist congresswoman

  

  Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) has already gathered three votes in favor of sentencing staunch Bolsonarist Congresswoman Carla Zambelli to 5 years and 3 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm and illegal restraint with a firearm, in addition to removing her from Parliament after case rapporteur Gilmar Mendes cast his virtual opinion Friday.

• Friday, March 21st 2025 - 08:57 UTC

  Brazil: STJ upholds fine against parents not vaccinating child against Covid-19

  

  Brazil's Superior Court of Justice's (STJ) Third Panel (Turma) unanimously ruled Thursday that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against Covid-19 can be fined, upholding a decision by the Paraná state court. The court's rationale hinged around the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA), which mandates child immunization.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 20:03 UTC

  Amazon railroad project faces ballooning costs and environmental concerns

  

  New data provided by researchers from the University of São Paulo, the Federal University of Minas Gerais, and environmental groups like the Climate Observatory showed that the Ferrogrão railroad, a 933-kilometer project linking Mato Grosso’s grain-producing region to Atlantic ports, could cause significantly greater environmental damage than previously estimated. The study criticizes the government’s feasibility analysis, conducted under former President Jair Bolsonaro, for underestimating deforestation risks and cumulative impacts, especially in the Amazon rainforest and indigenous areas.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 11:26 UTC

  Brazil: Haddad says Selic adjustment stemmed from Campos Neto era

  

  After Brazil Central Bank's (BCB) Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) raised Wednesday the benchmark Selic interest rate from 13.25% to 14.25% annually, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad warned that such a move had been planned since December under former BCB President Roberto Campos Neto, who had been appointed during the Jair Bolsonaro years.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 10:23 UTC

  Eduardo Bolsonaro to seek political asylum in the US

  

  Brazilian Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, announced he would be taking a leave from Parliament and remaining in the United States where he intends to seek political asylum at the suggestion of his legal team, who advised him against returning to the country as his freedom could be endangered by whatever Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes might decide. He traveled to the US on Feb. 27, 2025, initially for meetings and vacation.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 06:07 UTC

  Brazilian Central Bank raises interest rate to its highest in nine years, 14.25%

  

  The Brazilian Central Bank Copom (Monetary Policy Committee) raised the benchmark interest rate (Selic) by one full percentage point on Wednesday, from 13.25% to 14.25%, the highest since 2016, the level reached during the political crisis that ousted then president of Dilma Rousseff’s (PT) government.

• Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 10:12 UTC

  Brazil condemns Conmebol chief statements

  

  The Brazilian Government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Tuesday condemned South American Football Confederation President Alejandro Dominguez's remark comparing a Libertadores Cup without Brazilian teams to “Tarzan without Cheetah,” and criticized the sporting body for failing to combat racism effectively.