On April 19, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, climbed onto a truck outside army headquarters in Brasília to fire up protesters who were calling for a shutdown of Congress and the Supreme Court. Soon after, according to Folha de S. Paulo, he learned that federal police were investigating allegations that one of his sons, Carlos, runs an online fake-news network that may have inspired the protest.
“We're on another path, the path of prosperity, not in the path of despair”, said Brazilian economy minister Paulo Guedes when asked about Argentina's decision to partially abandon Mercosur. It was also an opportunity for president Jair Bolsonaro to openly express support for his the “super” minister, who seemed strongly weakened following the forced resignation of the other “super” minister Sergio Moro.
The chief of the Brazilian Lower House, Rodrigo Maia has held a round of political talks and contacts to discuss the current course of the government and attitude of president Jair Bolsonaro regarding the current Covid 19 pandemics.
Brazil’s government on Monday announced emergency measures to inject nearly 150 billion reais (US$ 30 billion) into the economy to soften the blow from the coronavirus pandemic.
Brazil’s economy minister blamed the Real’s slide to an all-time low on the coronavirus outbreak and said the currency could weaken to as much as 5 per dollar if he “messes up.” Paulo Guedes said the Real is weakening largely due to the economic impact of the epidemic, rather than a change in the country’s risk perception.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its 2020 Brazilian economic growth outlook to under 2.0%, while JP Morgan reduced its outlook for Latin America’s largest economy even further below the threshold that many observers say is highly sensitive for President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.
Brazil’s real posted a record low close against the dollar for a second straight day on Wednesday, after earlier sliding to within less than one centavo of its weakest-ever level as the weight of selling pressure built up on several fronts.
Brazilian Economy minister Paulo Guedes said that the economic model has changed and no long is made up of high interest rates and a strong Real. His comments follow concerns that the exchange rate of the Real against the US dollar has been increasing sustainedly for the last few days.
Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes apologized on Monday for using the term parasite to describe state employees, risking a backlash as the government tries to push forward a bill that would reduce public sector costs and benefits.
Brazil’s government will submit a bill that would reduce public sector costs and benefits and make it easier to fire workers to Congress “in a week or two,” Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday.