Brazil

• Monday, August 5th 2013 - 19:51 UTC

  Brazilian farmers blast Mercosur for its ‘bad leadership and worse presidents’

  

  Mercosur has become characterized for “bad leadership and worse presidents” of the countries that make up the block, since there is no incentive for the regional organization and it has become “an ideological battle political field”, said Cesario Ramalho da Silva, president of the Brazilian Rural Society.

• Saturday, August 3rd 2013 - 02:25 UTC

  Brazil’s oil and gas output up in June to 2.6 million boepd

  

  Brazil's total output oil and natural gas output rose in June, the first year-on-year increase in 15 months, as fields idled for repairs came back on line and new areas boosted production, Brazil's petroleum agency, the ANP, said on Friday.

• Saturday, August 3rd 2013 - 02:08 UTC

  Brazil passes strict law on bribing extending liability to staff and companies involved

  

  Bribing a public official in Brazil could become a very onerous mistake for local and foreign businesses under a law enacted that for the first time makes companies liable for bribes paid by their employees.

• Saturday, August 3rd 2013 - 01:53 UTC

  Brazil investment in science, via the ministerial budget reaches ‘an all time high’

  

  Brazil's investment in science has reached an all-time high, with the science ministry's budget increasing from 8.6 billion Real (about 3.8 billion dollars) in 2012 to 12.7 billion Real (around 5.6bn) this year, according to science minister Marco Antonio Raupp.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:55 UTC

  Brazil supports IMF aid to Greece and summons delegate back home to explain

  

  Brazil on Thursday expressed support for the IMF latest aid package for Greece, disavowing its IMF delegate who abstained in a vote on the issue. Finance Minister Guido Mantega spoke with IMF chief Christine Lagarde and backed the Fund's decision to release 1.7 billion Euros in rescue loans to ailing Greece Monday, his spokesman said.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:33 UTC

  Brazil June public accounts improve supported by state and local governments’ surpluses

  

  Brazil's twelve-month public sector primary budget surplus widened in June amid a robust surplus from state and local governments, helping bring the country's nominal deficit slightly narrower.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:26 UTC

  Brazil's Rousseff announces billions to improve Sao Paulo transport system

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff moved quickly this week to improve bus services in the metropolis of Sao Paulo, where protests over a fare increase in June triggered an outburst of national discontent that battered her popularity and questioned the country’s infrastructure for two major world events in 2014 and 2016.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 04:09 UTC

  “Not even the Pope could bring Brazil and Paraguay together”, said O’Globo

  

  Influential Latin American newspapers have been extremely critical of Brazilian diplomacy in its unsuccessful attempts to ‘subdue Paraguay’, while at the same praising the landlocked country’s dignity in demanding from Mercosur respect and compliance with the rule of the law.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 03:50 UTC

  Brazilian airport workers on strike but “only 15% of flights cancelled or delayed”

  

  Thousands of Brazilian airport workers went on strike on Wednesday to demand higher wages, although contingency plans kept flights running on time, according to state airport agency Infraero. The workers' union is pressing for a roughly 16% salary bump along with improved benefits such as childcare.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 02:59 UTC

  Brazil criticizes IMF for latest aid to Greece: worst fears could be confirmed

  

  A group of Latin American countries refused to back an IMF move this week to keep bankrolling Greece, citing risks of non-repayment, and the Fund itself said Athens might need faster debt relief from Europe.