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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 15th 2025 - 09:11 UTC

Brazil

  • Tuesday, February 20th 2018 - 09:43 UTC

    Brazilian government admits crucial pensions' reform will be hard to pass Congress

    Senate chief Eunicio Oliveira said the federal military intervention in Rio blocks any measure requiring a constitutional amendment, including pensions' reform.

    Brazil’s political affairs minister Carlos Marun said on Monday that passage of a bill to overhaul the country’s costly social security system has effectively ground to a halt in Congress and would become a campaign issue in this year’s election.

  • Monday, February 19th 2018 - 09:29 UTC

    Yellow fever in Brazil: extended vaccine fractionation because of lack of supplies

    Preliminary data from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo shows that 3.95 million people were vaccinated, 3.6 million with fractional doses and 356,800 with standard doses.

    The Brazilian Ministry of Health has reported that from July 1, 2017 to February 15 of this year, 409 cases of yellow fever were confirmed in the country, 183 in São Paulo, 157 in Minas Gerais, 68 in Rio de Janeiro and 1 in the Federal District. There were also 118 deaths throughout the country, 44 in Minas Gerais, 46 in São Paulo, 27 in Rio de Janeiro and one death in the Federal District.

  • Monday, February 19th 2018 - 09:25 UTC

    Temer announces the creation of a public security ministry

    “From next week or the next, I want to create a ministry of public security to co-ordinate all efforts,” said Temer after leaving a meeting in Rio

    Brazilian President Michel Temer has announced the creation of a public security ministry after giving the military full control over security in crime-plagued Rio de Janeiro. Temer came to the city to meet Governor Luiz Fernando Pezao, several ministers and General Walter Souza Braga Netto, who will lead the operation and who was in charge of coordinating security when the city hosted the 2016 Olympic Games.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:42 UTC

    Temer has Rio do Janeiro under full military control to combat gang violence

    The army will now have primacy over the state police, a situation unheard of since the country's return to democracy in 1985 after two decades of military rule.

    Brazil's President Michel Temer on Friday handed the military full control of security in Rio de Janeiro in an increasingly desperate fight to tame runaway gang violence. Army patrols are already used in Rio's gang-ruled favelas, but a decree signed by Temer will now give the military full control of security operations in Rio state, which the president said had virtually been seized by organized crime gangs.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 02:06 UTC

    Falklands' second weekly commercial air link talks take off, and should crystallize by next October

    MLA Dr Barry Elsby said it was a very positive step forward for the Falklands, since “the additional flight will help us to improve our links with the world at large”

    The United Kingdom and Argentina, following on the September 2016 joint communiqué to establish additional air links with the Falkland Islands, jointly announced on Friday that third country airlines interested in such operations will be contacted. It is expected that by the end of February the commercial process will be initiated, led by the Falkland Islands, and sometime next October the new weekly air link, with a monthly call in Argentina, will become operational.

  • Wednesday, February 14th 2018 - 09:54 UTC

    Temer said that Brazil will continue to receive Venezuelan refugees

    Temer promised financial assistance for Roraima and to organize the flow of Venezuelans, including transporting some of the refugees to other states.

    Brazil will not block Venezuelans from entering the country through the border in the northern state of Roraima, but has launched a task force to organize the flow and provide resources for cities and states dealing with the refugees.

  • Monday, February 12th 2018 - 16:01 UTC

    Temer talks of “diplomatic confrontation” with Maduro over exodus of Venezuelans

    An estimated 40,000 refugees have arrived since last year, straining public services in the city of Boa Vista.

    Brazilian President Michel Temer criticized the government of neighboring Venezuela for leading that country into a crisis that is causing an exodus of refugees into northern Brazil. Brasilia has called for democratic reforms by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has consolidated power as his country’s economic crisis deepens with shortages of food and medicine.

  • Monday, February 12th 2018 - 15:56 UTC

    Federal Police chief questioned for comments denying alleged bribery involving president Temer

    Justice Luis Barroso said Segovia talked about an investigation yet to be concluded, in a way that put pressure and threatens the autonomy of the federal police

    Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luis Barroso asked for the head of the Federal Police to clarify comments he made in a Reuters interview published a day earlier regarding an investigation of President Michel Temer.

  • Monday, February 12th 2018 - 05:46 UTC

    Mysterious killing of Petrobras corruption investigation whistleblower

    Soares Vieira was a businessman but was also involved in politics as Deputy mayor of the city of Ourolandia, from 2012 to 2016, elected by the Workers Party, PT

    A Brazilian federal judge has requested the Federal Prosecution Office a report on the killing of Jose Roberto Soares Vieira, who helped the Petrobras corruption probe team to track illegal payments in the 47th chapter of the investigation and which involved the former manager of Transpetro, Jose Antonio de Jesus.

  • Friday, February 9th 2018 - 20:18 UTC

    Brazilian current soy crop estimated at 110.4m tons, but 3.2% less than last year

    After a slow start, the rainy season has been beneficial for the soybeans since early November and as a result, Conabs soybean estimate could move higher. Pic: Cadu Gomes/CB/D.A Press

    In their latest monthly report, Conab (National Supply Company) increased their estimate of the 2017/18 Brazilian soybean crop by 1.2 million tons and they slightly increased their Brazilian corn estimate. Conab is now estimating the 2017/18 Brazilian soybean crop at 110.4 million tons which is 1.2 million tons more than last month's estimate (109.1 million tons). If realized, the 2017/18 crop would be 3.6 million tons lower than the 114.0 million tons produced last year (-3.2%).