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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 20th 2025 - 18:50 UTC

Brazil

  • Monday, May 13th 2024 - 10:49 UTC

    Massive aid promised to Rio Grande do Sul to overcome floods of biblical proportions

    IDB president Goldfajn has anticipated a US$ 1 billion package

    The Inter American Development Bank, IDB, has announced a package of emergency measures, plus humanitarian aid and special credits for rebuilding infrastructure in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul currently suffering from the worst floods in a century, with hundreds dead and disappeared, and over a million of the eleven million population forcibly displaced.

  • Monday, May 13th 2024 - 10:48 UTC

    Brazil to buy rice from Mercosur countries to feed storm-hit Rio Grande do Sul

    “We're going to have to import rice from Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina,” Lula said upon announcing the initiative

    Brazil's National Supply Company (Conab) has been entrusted with purchasing one million tons of rice to feed the people of Rio Grande do Sul and avoid the intervention of middle people seeking a black market profit from the victims of the unprecedented storms. Under normal circumstances, Rio Grande do Sul accounts for 70% of Brazil's rice production.

  • Saturday, May 11th 2024 - 10:50 UTC

    Death toll in storm-hit Rio Grande do Sul updated to 116

    Assistance to places only reached by helicopter might be affected by rains during the weekend

    The total number of casualties in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul affected by unprecedented heavy rains has been updated to 116 as bad weather has been forecast to continue over the weekend. Volumes estimated to be around 115 millimeters would again put pressure on the already overflowing rivers, according to Presidential Information Minister Paulo Pimenta.

  • Thursday, May 9th 2024 - 23:31 UTC

    Brazil's Central Bank lowers Selic rate once again

    There was no indication as to what may happen in the next BCB board meeting

    Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) lowered once again the South American country's Selic benchmark interest rate to 10.5% per year amid a recent rise in the quotation of the US dollar, Agencia Brasil reported.

  • Wednesday, May 8th 2024 - 20:23 UTC

    Leftwing intellectuals and artists want Brazil to stop buying weapons from Israel

    Chico Buarque and his wife Carol Proner are among those signing the petition to be delivered to President Lula

    A group of Brazilian artists and intellectuals including singer-songwriter Chico Buarque and his wife Carol Proner, have signed a letter for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to stop buying weapons from Israel. The initiative was also endorsed by Amnesty International (AI) and several far-left political parties who have requested a meeting with the head of state to deliver the note.

  • Wednesday, May 8th 2024 - 10:37 UTC

    Rio Grande do Sul: Situation keeps getting worse

    Leite described the situation as a “catastrophe”

    According to the latest bulletin, 95 people have been killed so far in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul by the highly unusual heavy rains hitting the area since April 19, Agencia Brasil reported. Governor Eduardo Leite confirmed that 131 people were missing and at least 401 towns (out of 497 statewide) had been affected.

  • Wednesday, May 8th 2024 - 10:34 UTC

    Brasil: Cármen Lúcia to replace Alexandre De Moraes as TSE Chief Justice

    Lúcia has already been the first woman ever to chair the TSE

    Cármen Lúcia has been slated to succeed Alexandre De Moraes as Chief Justice of Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) starting June 3. It will be Lúcia's second term in the post. In 2012 she became the first woman ever to hold that office. Her term will span through 2026. The TSE is made up of at least seven justices, three from the Supreme Federal Court (STF), two from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), and two lawyers.

  • Monday, May 6th 2024 - 10:49 UTC

    Rio Grande do Sul floods getting worse every day

    Key parts of the city of Porto Alegre have been shut down due to flooding (Pic EFE)

    According to the latest report from Civil Defense, the number of casualties in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul since the first storms hit on April 29 have already reached 78 people, with 105 others still missing and 175 injured.

  • Monday, May 6th 2024 - 10:20 UTC

    Federal gov't to rebuild Rio Grande do Sul's roads, says Lula

    “Bureaucracy will not stand in the way of us recovering the greatness of this state,” said Lula

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Sunday that the Federal government would provide the funding for the reconstruction of every road in the State of Rio Grande do Sul destroyed by the storms, be them national or local, Agência Brasil reported. The head of state also pledged to reduce the bureaucracy involved in the work.

  • Saturday, May 4th 2024 - 10:47 UTC

    Porto Alegre Airport shut down until further notice due to storms

    Travelers were advised to contact the airlines for more information about their flights

    In a move to preserve the safety of workers and passengers alike, the Salgado Filho Airport serving the city of Porto Alegre, the capital of the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul, has announced it would be suspending all operations until further notice, Agencia Brasil reported. The Gaúcho State is going through a heavy storm and subsequent floods that have already left nearly 40 people dead and the number is expected to grow given the number of persons still unaccounted for.