The Brazilian administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Tuesday canceled a tender whereby some 263,000 tons of rice were to be purchased abroad to make up for the crops lost in the flooded State of Rio Grande do Sul. The decision was made after signs of irregularities were detected in the bidding companies. Rio Grande do Sul accounts for 70% of Brazil's rice production.
According to Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture Minister Paulo Teixeira, Brazil’s federal government will announce later this month the resumption of a series of actions aiming to promote the redistribution of unproductive lands, Agencia Brasil reported. The official made these remarks during a fair of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in São Paulo.
The deputy from the ruling Workers’ Party has appealed to Brazil’s Supreme Court in an effort to block the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff ahead of Wednesday’s Senate vote.