
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro underwent an operation to remove a bladder stone on Friday, the government said, the latest in a series of health issues for the far-right leader.

Brazil’s government is on course to post a primary budget deficit of 861 billion reais (US$ 157 billion) this year, the Economy Ministry said in its bimonthly revenue and expenditure report on Tuesday, factoring in extended emergency transfers to the poor through the end of December.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro defended his administration’s record protecting the Amazon rainforest, telling the United Nations’ virtual meeting of global leaders on Tuesday that his country has been wrongly portrayed as an environmental villain. Bolsonaro’s critics were quick to pick apart his claims.

Former Brazilian president Lula da Silva has offered to back any candidate who can beat far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in the upcoming 2022 elections. Lula is currently barred from seeking elected office as he is fighting two criminal convictions for graft that bar him from running. He can run himself if he is able to overturn the convictions, but he also faces five further indictments.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a bladder stone on Friday, a doctor for the Brazilian leader said on Sunday. Bolsonaro will check in to a hospital in Sao Paulo on Thursday to prepare for the procedure and will be hospitalized until Saturday or Sunday at the latest, said Leandro Echenique, one of several doctors on Bolsonaro's medical team.

Black beans are up nearly 30%, beef about 40% – Brazilians are facing a skyrocketing rise in food prices, caused by record exports to China and strong domestic demand. This rebound, amid the economic and social crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, has led the president, Jair Bolsonaro, to ask the owners of supermarkets to show patriotism and keep their profit margin as low as possible.

Luiz Fux assumed as chief justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court this week as the institution nears crucial rulings involving President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters and his eldest son. A top court justice since 2011, Fux is known for his tough stance against crime and his support of Operation Carwash, an investigation that has ensnared dozens of powerful businessmen and politicians over the past six years.

Brazil’s supermarkets are “committed” to lowering the prices of basic foodstuffs, President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday, hours after the Justice Ministry said it would ask supermarkets to explain recent price increases for some products.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has slammed environmental NGOs as a 'cancer' and denounced what he said was an international conspiracy accusing him of being responsible for devastating Amazon wildfires.

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro, who has consistently downplayed the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, reiterated on Thursday that COVID-19 vaccinations will not be obligatory when they become available.