Brazil’s government scrapped plans to send a delegate to Alberto Fernandez’s inauguration ceremony in Argentina, representing an escalation in tensions between South America’s top economies.
If elections were held today in Brazil, president Jair Bolsonaro would be the clearly re-elected with the exception of two scenarios, if facing ex-president Lula da Silva, and current Justice minister Sergio Moro, according to a public opinion poll contracted by the magazine Veja.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that Mercosur trade block needs to hurry up and implement agreements the group has negotiated.
Brazil on Thursday handed over the six-month rotating presidency of the Mercosur trade bloc (Southern Common Market) to Paraguay. During a ceremony at the bloc's 55th summit in Bento Goncalves, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro expressed confidence in his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez and his leadership skills.
Argentine president elect Alberto Fernandez confirmed Felipe Solá as his foreign minister and Daniel Scioli as ambassador in Brazil, following a meeting with a delegation of Brazilian lawmakers at his Buenos Aires headquarters. The Brazilian delegation was headed by the Lower House president, Rodrigo Maia.
The South American four-nation trade bloc Mercosur began a tense meeting on Wednesday reeling from US steel and aluminium tariffs and a spat between its two biggest members. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay opened the two-day meeting in the southern Brazilian town of Bento Goncalves, paving the way for a head of state summit on Thursday.
Brazil's health watchdog on Tuesday approved the sale of cannabis-based products for medical use in pharmacies to people with a prescription. The regulation, which takes effect in the coming months, also allows for the manufacture of such products in a laboratory, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) said in a statement.
Mercosur faces a tense future, the president-elect of Uruguay said on Monday, referring to a diplomatic spat between regional heavyweight economies Brazil and Argentina. Brazil’s right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina’s incoming leader, left-leaning Peronist Alberto Fernandez, have sparred openly.
United States President Donald Trump Monday announced he would be reimposing tariffs on imports of metals from Argentina and Brazil as a result of those two countries' devaluing their respective currencies which is not good for our farmers. Trump made the statement through his Twitter account.
American actor Leonardo DiCaprio denied a claim by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that he had helped fund groups allegedly linked to fires in the Amazon rain forest.