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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 5th 2025 - 05:00 UTC

Brazil

  • Friday, February 24th 2017 - 18:55 UTC

    Brazil central bank cuts interest rate hoping to overcome recession

    It was the fourth such cut in a row by the Central Bank, as Brazil's inflation falls but the economy shows few signs of recovering soon from two years of decline.

    Brazil cut its key interest rate further on Wednesday to try to prop Latin America's biggest economy out of its worst recession in a century. The country's central bank cut the benchmark rate by 0.75 percentage points to 12.25%, still one of the worlds highest.

  • Thursday, February 23rd 2017 - 10:17 UTC

    Donald Trump masks have become a hit of Brazil's Carnival

    With his blond hair and his orange-tinted face, a Trump mask is prominently featured in the display window of an enormous store selling all sorts of costumes

    President Donald Trump has become one of the new stars of Brazil’s Carnival, with masks of his face on sale in the costume stores in Sao Paulo and appearing everywhere at the street fetes preceding the “world’s biggest party,” which starts this weekend.

  • Thursday, February 23rd 2017 - 08:20 UTC

    Brazil foreign minister resigns citing health concerns

    Serra, 74, said health problems made him unable to keep up with the rhythm of leading the foreign ministry of Latin America's biggest nation.

    Brazil's Foreign Minister Jose Serra resigned citing health concerns, in a new blow to Michel Temer's administration. Serra, 74, said health problems made him unable to keep up with the rhythm of leading the foreign ministry of Latin America's biggest nation.

  • Tuesday, February 21st 2017 - 10:58 UTC

    Petrobras exporting record volumes from sub-salt offshore oil fields

    Brazil’s sub-salt production rose to 1.26 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, equivalent to 46% of the country’s total output – up from 34% a year earlier.

    Rising output from Brazil’s sub-salt offshore oil fields is allowing Petrobras to export record volumes of oil and import less light crude for its refineries, a senior executive said. Cláudio Mastella, executive manager for refining and natural gas logistics, said the move is helping to reduce Petrobras’ operational and logistical costs because lighter oil is easier and cheaper to refine into products like gasoline and diesel.

  • Saturday, February 18th 2017 - 07:15 UTC

    Brazil decommissioning its only aircraft carrier, Sao Paulo

    The São Paulo began life as the French aircraft carrier Foch. It served for 37 years until it was replaced by the nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle.

    Brazil has decided to permanently sideline its sole aircraft carrier, the flat-top São Paulo. The Brazilian government has said the cost of updating the ship and purchasing new planes was prohibitive and will seek to replace them in the future. The decision underscores the point that aircraft carriers are a rich country's game.

  • Saturday, February 18th 2017 - 06:55 UTC

    Brazilian military the most trusted institution, exempt from pensions' reform

    The military has a strong lobby in Congress, the Public Security Parliamentary Front, a group of close to 300 deputies known unofficially as the “bullet caucus”

    Ever so dependent on the Armed Forces to keep law and order, the Brazilian government has exempted the military from a far-reaching pension reform. Following Congress's approval of a public spending cap late last year, the government of President Michel Temer is pushing ahead with a broad pension reform as the next stage of its austerity agenda.

  • Friday, February 17th 2017 - 10:25 UTC

    Mexico looking at Argentina and Brazil as an alternative for US corn

    Agriculture Secretary Calzada will be travelling to Argentina and Brazil and said that the Mexican government could explore quotas and changing the tariff regime

    Mexican politicians are saber rattling against the US agriculture sector, and it looks like Argentina is ready to fill the gap. In effect Mexico's agriculture minister said on Thursday he will lead a business delegation to Argentina and Brazil to explore buying yellow corn, part of a drive to lessen Mexico's U.S. dependence given uncertainty over President Donald Trump's trade policies.

  • Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 16:30 UTC

    Brazil forecasts record soy and corn harvests, on good climate conditions

    Conab forecast total corn production in 2016-17 at a record at 87.4m tons, compared to a previous estimate of 84.5m tons.

    Conab, the Brazilian crop supply agency lifted its forecast for the second-season corn crop by some 2.5m tons, citing good weather. Conab forecast the Brazilian safrinha crop, which is sown after soybeans are harvested, up 44% year-on-year, to 58.59m tons. This compares to the 56.10m tons Cobab forecast in January.

  • Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 10:27 UTC

    Yellow fever vaccination recommendations for international travellers to Brazil

    Vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days prior to the travel. A single dose of vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and life-long protection

    As of 13 February 2017, yellow fever virus transmission continues to expand towards the Atlantic coast of Brazil in areas not deemed to be at risk for yellow fever transmission prior to the revised risk assessment published by WHO in the Disease Outbreak News of 27 January 2017, and supported by the scientific and technical advisory group on geographical yellow fever risk mapping (GRYF).

  • Wednesday, February 15th 2017 - 09:34 UTC

    Brazilian Judge reinstates top ally of President Temer to a ministerial post

    The nomination of Moreira Franco came days after the Supreme Court officially approved plea bargain testimony from 77 executives and employees of Odebrecht.

    A Brazilian judge reinstated the nomination of a top ally of President Michel Temer to a ministerial post, but ruled he could not receive the legal protections other high-ranking politicians enjoy.