Brazil

• Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 15:38 UTC

  Ex finance minister of Lula and Rousseff arrested in connection to Petrobras corruption

  

  Brazilian police on Thursday arrested Guido Mantega, a former finance minister under presidents Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, as part of the investigation into the vast Petrobras corruption scheme, media reported.However Brazilian Judge Sergio Moro later in the day revoked the temporary detention order citing Mantega's cooperation with a search of his home and his wife's surgery in a Sao Paulo hospital.

• Wednesday, September 21st 2016 - 09:42 UTC

  Lula must stand trial on Petrobras probe corruption charges

  

  The Brazilian judge overseeing the investigation of a US$2 billion corruption scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras ruled Tuesday that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva must stand trial on charges arising from the probe.

• Wednesday, September 21st 2016 - 09:25 UTC

  Temer hails the triumph of democracy and pledges fiscal and social responsibility

  

  Brazil's new president, Michel Temer, told the United Nations on Tuesday that his controversial ascent showed the triumph of democracy. Temer took office on August 31 after the impeachment over accounting irregularities of elected president Dilma Rousseff, whose supporters said Brazil's right-wing forces had staged a bloodless coup.

• Tuesday, September 20th 2016 - 11:14 UTC

  Temer's message to UN: peace, human rights and economic reforms

  

  Twenty days after being confirmed as Brazil’s new president, Michel Temer will deliver his first international speech at the UN´s General Assembly on Tuesday. He is not expected to mention recent political changes in Brazil, and focus rather on new opportunities for foreign investors.

• Tuesday, September 20th 2016 - 09:53 UTC

  Brazil and Uruguay agree on a Mercosur with “a greater open integration”

  

  President Tabare Vazquez confirmed on Monday that Uruguay will continue as “coordinator” of discussions between Mercosur and the European Union to reach a wide ranging trade agreement.

• Monday, September 19th 2016 - 06:44 UTC

  Mercosur controversy moves to New York; Temer-Vazquez to address differences

  

  The Mercosur controversy has moved to New York far away from the spotlights of regional media, since the presidents of the four founding members are scheduled to address the UN General Assembly this week, and are expected to hold a series of meetings on the sidelines of the major global event.

• Friday, September 16th 2016 - 08:25 UTC

  Argentina (and Brazil) optimistic about a Mercosur/EU trade accord by the end of 2017

  

  The current critical situation of Mercosur is an opportunity to strengthen and advance trade negotiations, which could include the long delayed accord with the European Union by the end of 2017, according to Argentina's Secretary of Commerce, Miguel Braun.

• Friday, September 16th 2016 - 06:55 UTC

  Lula claims corruption charges are targeted to destroy him ahead of 2018 elections

  

  Brazil's former president Lula da Silva defended himself against corruption charges Thursday, saying the case against him was an attempt to destroy him politically ahead of elections in 2018.Speaking a day after prosecutors accused him of masterminding a massive corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras, the popular leader launched a wide-ranging defense of his career and legacy.

• Tuesday, September 13th 2016 - 19:56 UTC

  Brazil launches ambitious program to auction off oil, power and infrastructure concessions

  

  Brazil on Tuesday launched a multibillion-dollar plan to auction off oil, power rights and infrastructure concessions, in an attempt by the new government to bolster private investment in a moribund economy. The government will sell operating licenses for airports in the cities of Porto Alegre, Salvador, Florianopolis and Fortaleza by the first quarter of 2017. It also plans to sell rights to operate federal roads in the center-west and south regions later next year.

• Tuesday, September 13th 2016 - 09:42 UTC

  Brazilian congress expels lawmaker who engineered Rousseff's impeachment

  

  Two weeks after the removal of Dilma Rousseff as Brazil's president, the lower house of Congress on Monday expelled the lawmaker who engineered her impeachment for lying about secret bank accounts in Switzerland. The once powerful former speaker Eduardo Cunha, who has been charged with corruption by the Supreme Court, was banned from politics for eight years and faces arrest now he has lost his congressional prerogatives.