MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Latin America's largest investment bank targets Uruguay as regional hub after acquiring local HSBC unit]]> Founded in 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, the group is present in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru Brazilian group BTG Pactual, Latin America's largest investment bank, is awaiting authorisation from Uruguay's Central Bank (BCU) to begin operating in the local financial market following its $175 million acquisition of HSBC Uruguay, agreed in July 2025. Group executives expect regulatory approval to come through by mid-year, allowing them to begin operations gradually in the second half of 2026.

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:28:00 GMT <![CDATA[Paraguay attracts record foreigners with low taxes and new investor residency program]]> Paraguay consolidated over recent decades a simplified tax structure known as “10-10-10”: 10% VAT, 10% personal income tax and 10% corporate income tax. Foreign residency applications in Paraguay surged 85% in the first quarter of 2026, reaching 18,071 compared to 9,760 in the same period of 2025, the National Migration Directorate reported. Temporary residency requests jumped 105% to 14,995, while permanent residency applications rose 25% to 3,076.

]]> Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:17:00 GMT <![CDATA[Lula and Sanchez seal progressive alliance in Barcelona and call for front against global far right]]> Sánchez responded that Spain and Brazil share “the same vision of the world, anchored in the defense of democracy, international cooperation, respect for international law and human rights, and peace” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday cemented a political alliance in Barcelona between the European and Latin American left against the advance of the far right on both continents. At the first bilateral Spain-Brazil summit, held at the Pedralbes Palace with military honors and the participation of roughly ten ministers from each side, both leaders displayed total alignment and signed a series of cooperation agreements.

]]> Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:49:00 GMT <![CDATA[“We are oppressed in Brazil”: thousands of conservative Brazilians seek new life in Paraguay]]> Paraguay broke a record in 2025 by granting 40,600 residency permits to foreigners. More than half — 23,500 — went to Brazilians, far outpacing the 4,300 Argentines in second place Hundreds of Brazilians camped overnight on beach chairs, plastic benches and tarps outside an immigration center in Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil, to secure a spot in a Paraguayan government drive to fast-track residency applications. Some organized an improvised barbecue on a barrel while they waited. Others had traveled more than 1,500 kilometers by bus. All shared a common thread: the desire to leave Brazil for reasons they describe as political, economic and ideological, according to a report by BBC News Brasil.

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:08:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazil coffee exports fall 21% in Q1 despite record crop forecast]]> March figures continued the downward trend: shipments declined 8% year-on-year to three million bags and revenues dropped 15.1%, to US$1.125 billion Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer and exporter, shipped 8.4 million 60-kilogram bags between January and March 2026, a volume 21.2% below the same period in 2025, the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) reported on Monday. Export revenues also fell 13.6%, to US$3.371 billion.

]]> Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:34:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazil's inflation rises to 4.14% in March driven by higher fuel and food costs]]> The main driver of the acceleration was higher fuel costs, directly linked to international oil market volatility caused by the war between the United States, Israel and Iran Annual inflation in Brazil accelerated to 4.14% in March, pushed higher by rising fuel and food prices, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported on Friday. The figure reverses the slowdown recorded in February, when the index had eased to 3.81%.

]]> Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:26:00 GMT <![CDATA[FAO food commodities prices up in March; concern with energy and fertilizer costs]]> FAO Chief Economist Torero said “if the conflict stretches beyond 40 days farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops”. World food commodity prices rose in March for the second month in a row, due largely to higher energy prices linked to the conflict escalation in the Near East, according to the latest benchmark measure released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:13:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazilian judge suspends 12% crude oil export tax for five international oil companies]]> Judge Humberto de Vasconcelos Sampaio ruled that the sudden imposition of the 12% rate amounts in practice to the creation of a new tax burden with a “merely revenue-raising” purpose A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro issued a preliminary injunction suspending the 12% crude oil export tax for five international companies operating in Brazil: Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Repsol Sinopec and Petrogal. The ruling represents an initial court victory for the oil companies in their dispute with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government over a levy they consider unconstitutional.

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:08:00 GMT <![CDATA[São Paulo stock exchange reverses losses and closes higher on US-Iran negotiation signals]]> The Ibovespa, the Brazilian market's benchmark index, finished at 188,258 points, stringing together a sixth consecutive session of gains, though the last three with near-zero variations The São Paulo stock exchange reversed its losses in the final minutes of trading and closed Tuesday with a slight gain of 0.05%, lifted by President Donald Trump's statement that he is in "heated negotiations" with Iran just hours before his ultimatum for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz expired.

]]> Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:59:00 GMT <![CDATA[Father of Argentine lawyer detained for racism in Brazil repeats same gestures at bar]]> In a second recording from the same night, he is heard claiming that he personally paid the $18,000 bail imposed by the Brazilian court so his daughter could return to Argentina Mariano Páez, father of lawyer and influencer Agostina Páez, was filmed imitating monkey gestures at a bar in Santiago del Estero — the same racist gesticulations that led to his daughter's indictment for racial slur in Brazil, where she spent over two months detained in Rio de Janeiro. The incident took place just hours after the young woman's return to her home province.

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