
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.

Two of Brazil’s former presidents, a chief justice and heads of both chambers of Congress repudiated the country’s economy minister for saying the government might take draconian steps if leftist opponents stirred up protests such as those in Chile.

This year has already been the biggest in a decade for share offerings from Brazilian companies, but there has been little sign of the foreign investor appetite that fueled prior rallies, as weak growth and divisive politics keep many on the sidelines.

Brazil’s government on Tuesday sent to the Senate the nomination of career-diplomat Nestor Forster to be ambassador to the United States, ending a saga in which President Jair Bolsonaro tried to nominate his own son for the role.