ENVIRONMENT Record heat index of 62.3C scorches Rio de Janeiro 18-03-2024 10:58 A heat wave stifling Brazil set new records on Sunday, with Rio de Janeiro's heat index hitting 62.3 degrees Celsius, the highest in a decade.
AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY US green fuel push threatens Argentina’s main export market 14-03-2024 15:56 Biden administration’s landmark decarbonisation plan has the potential to cause tectonic shifts in global agricultural markets – and deal a damaging blow to Argentina’s troubled economy.
MERCOSUR TENSIONS Mercosur tensions: Uruguay rage overshadows hope for EU deal 08-03-2024 11:43 Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou slams Argentina, Brazil governments for blocking his free-trade deal with China; Lula and Spanish PM Sánchez optimistic about long-trailed EU despite impasse.
YPF nationalisation case Brazil backs Argentina in fight over US$16-billion US YPF judgment 05-03-2024 14:02 Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay file "friends of the court" brief to assist Argentina’s appeal against a US$16.1-billion US court judgement over the controversial 2012 nationalisation of oil company YPF SA.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil economy grew 2.9% in 2023, says official data 01-03-2024 16:08 Brazil's economy expanded 2.9% in 2023 after a fourth quarter of zero growth, according to data released Friday by the IBGE national statistics agency.
GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY G20 finance ministers meet on world economy hit by crises, conflicts 28-02-2024 12:55 G20 finance ministers will meet Wednesday in Brazil, seeking ways to shore up a global economy whose nascent recovery is threatened by a raft of conflicts and crises, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Brazil and Wall Street Lula pulls off rare trick twice, wooing Wall Street and the poor 26-02-2024 11:09 In his first year back in power, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has again managed to keep both low-income voters and Wall Street investors happy
G20 SUMMIT Brazil condemns 'paralysis' on Gaza, Ukraine at tense G20 meeting 22-02-2024 14:40 Outlook bleak for progress on the thorny agenda of conflicts and crises gripping the planet as foreign ministers from the world's biggest economies gather in Rio de Janeiro for the Group of 20's first high-level meeting of the year.
G20 Summit Gaza, Ukraine loom large as G20 foreign ministers meet 21-02-2024 11:37 G20 foreign ministers begin meeting in Brazil on Wednesday, with bleak outlook as focus remains Gaza and Ukraine wars
G20 SUMMIT Government sends top officials to G20 in Brazil to appease Lula 20-02-2024 14:37 The context behind a trip to a forum with a different approach from the one sought by President Javier Milei.
Blinken in Brazil Blinken heads to Brazil after Lula's Israel denunciation 20-02-2024 13:33 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken goes to Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro for the Group of 20 summit; trip seen as an opportunity to build ties with two key leaders
DIPLOMACY Brazil-Israel row escalates as Lula declared 'persona non grata' 19-02-2024 21:14 Brazil recalls its ambassador from Israel, which declares Lula "persona non grata" after controversial remarks.
Agriculture Natural pesticides gain ground in 'agri-tox' capital Brazil 19-02-2024 14:14 Agricultural powerhouse Brazil may be the world leader in chemical pesticide use, but there is a growing trend of farmers turning to natural products known as "biopesticides."
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil’s economic activity caps 2023 with better-than expected growth 19-02-2024 14:05 Brazil’s economy grew more than expected in December, indicating activity is still showing some resilience to high interest rates as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva readies higher government spending.
Foreign relations & diplomacy Blinken to make first trips to Brazil, Argentina as Lula leads G20 16-02-2024 13:03 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to make first official visits to Brazil and Argentina while in region for G20 meeting of foreign ministers.
FOOTBALL Argentina U23s knock Brazil out of Paris Olympics qualifying 11-02-2024 23:52 Argentina's U23 side defeat arch continental rivals Brazil on final day of the South American pre-Olympic tournament in Venezuela.
INFLATION WOES Latin America’s inflation progress tempered by soaring food price pressures 08-02-2024 14:28 Consumer price readings underscore challenges facing Latin American policymakers as they calibrate future interest rate cuts. Most of the region’s major inflation-targeting central banks have already begun reducing borrowing costs
BRAZILIAN COURTS Bolsonaro to surrender passport as Brazil probes 'coup' 08-02-2024 12:33 Probe into Bolsonaro supporters' invasion of the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in January 2023 continues.
Human rights Rio carnival group pays tribute to wronged hero of black history 07-02-2024 11:25 Paraíso do Tuiuti's carnival song is a tribute to João Candido, a sailor in the Brazilian navy who led a revolt against slave-like conditions on ships.
EU-MERCOSUR DEAL EU-Mercosur trade deal totters as Europe's farmers revolt 30-01-2024 18:15 Growing farmer protests in Europe and strong opposition from France damages push for EU-Mercosur free-trade deal.
POLITICS Scioli joins Milei government as Tourism, Environment & Sports secretary 30-01-2024 16:48 Veteran Peronist minister, who lost 2015 presidential election to Mauricio Macri, switches to Javier Milei’s team, taking up a post as government secretary ; Scioli headed Argentina’s Embassy in Brazil throughout Alberto Fernández’s Presidency.
TECHNOLOGY App lets indigenous Brazilians connect in own languages 30-01-2024 10:49 A smartphone app is making it easier for indigenous Brazilians to connect by allowing them to use their own native languages.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL EU says Mercosur deal 'not quite there' but talks continue 30-01-2024 09:43 EU-Mercosur trade deal is "not quite there yet" but talks continue, the European Commission said Tuesday against a backdrop of farmer protests in Europe.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Macron asks EU’s Von der Leyen to stop Mercosur trade deal 30-01-2024 07:27 French President Emmanuel Macron asks European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen to end the current round of negotiations over free-trade deal between EU and Mercosur trade bloc.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL France 'opposes signing' of EU-Mercosur trade deal, says prime minister 26-01-2024 14:59 French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says President Emmanuel Macron "has always opposed" the free-trade deal negotiated between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil inflation ends 2023 above forecasts but within target 11-01-2024 13:07 Official data released Thursday showed consumer prices rose 4.62% in Brazil December from a year earlier.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Scholz, Milei in favour of swift conclusion to EU-Mercosur deal 09-01-2024 20:42 President Javier Milei spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, with the two calling for a swift conclusion to the European Union-Mercosur trade deal.
LATIN AMERICA Bolsonaro’s shadow looms over a revamp of the Brazilian right 08-01-2024 09:52 A tear after Brazil riots, Bolsonaro’s right-wing movement seeks a rebrand.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Argentina formally rejects BRICS membership 29-12-2023 20:38 President Javier Milei send letters to BRICS leaders to formalise his decision to reject an invitation to join the grouping.
Presidential handover Milei meets with Bolsonaro in Buenos Aires ahead of inauguration 08-12-2023 14:38 Argentina's Javier Milei receives former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro in Buenos Aires ahead of president-elect's inauguration on Sunday.
AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY Argentina set to double wheat sales to Brazil on rebounding crop 07-12-2023 21:00 Argentina is poised to more than double its shipments of wheat to Brazil, displacing competitors including Russia in the key global agriculture market.
BILATERAL RELATIONS Lula snubs Milei invite to presidential inauguration 05-12-2023 13:39 Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend Sunday's inauguration of president-elect Javier Milei, despite libertarian leader's attempts at rapprochement in recent weeks.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Crunch time for EU-Mercosur trade deal at Rio summit 05-12-2023 09:01 Fate of long-awaited trade deal hangs in the balance this week at key Mercosur summit in Brazil; Meeting was originally supposed to seal agreement, but last-minute bickering puts it in doubt.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Argentina: Conditions not in place to sign Mercosur-EU deal 04-12-2023 12:09 Argentina’s outgoing government says conditions are not in place to sign long-delayed free-trade agreement between Mercosur and European Union.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Latin America’s biggest economies see unemployment tick down 30-11-2023 13:42 Unemployment rates in Brazil and Mexico fell in October, as strong labour markets underpin the outperformance of Latin America’s largest economies.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY President-elect heads to US, invites Lula to inauguration 26-11-2023 18:47 Milei's incoming foreign minister travelled to Brazil to invite President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to December 10 inauguration.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY More moderate Milei embraces trading partners he had shunned 24-11-2023 14:31 Signs indicate foul-mouthed libertarian who swept to power with radical promises to fix Argentina’s problems may be adopting a more pragmatic approach, at least in foreign policy, as he prepares to take office.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Lula seeks to patch up tattered relations with Milei 23-11-2023 13:17 Lula wants to avoid a relapse in the bilateral relationship to the state it was under Jair Bolsonaro and Alberto Fernández.
VIOLENCE AT MARACANÃ Attack on fans overshadows Argentina historic win over Brazil 22-11-2023 12:52 Violence at the Maracanã as Brazilian police attack Argentina fans; Messi leads players off pitch in protest; Albiceleste goes on to win 1-0, breaking Brazil’s unbeaten qualifying run dating back to 1954.
CHAOS IN THE MARACANÃ ‘Always the same’ – Bittersweet win in Maracanã marred by ugly scenes 22-11-2023 12:10 National team coach Lionel Scaloni’s comments cast doubt over his future and delivered another twist in the tale to a stunning and shocking night in Rio de Janeiro. by Dan Edwards
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Lula to give Milei the cold shoulder, betting he’ll need Brazil 20-11-2023 15:24 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decided to put relations between Brazil and Argentina on hold until he has clarity about Javier Milei's plans.
Culture Taylor Swift fan dies at Eras Tour stop in Rio 19-11-2023 18:29 “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this,” says star in response to news.
aviation sector Low-cost airline Flybondi eyes Brazil expansion after SPAC deal 15-11-2023 13:11 Argentine low-cost airline Flybondi is considering an expansion into Brazil, a move that could eventually be financed through public markets.
ELECTION 2023 Brazil’s Lula sides with Massa in Argentina vote as regional split widens 14-11-2023 13:16 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has backed Sergio Massa ahead of Sunday’s presidential election, the latest leader taking a side in the heated contest that has highlighted deepening ideological divisions in the region
Election 2023 Lula says Argentina needs a president who ‘likes democracy’ 14-11-2023 12:07 Brazil president avoids explicitly declaring support for ally Sergio Massa but says Argentina needs to elect a president who ‘likes democracy’ in Sunday’s run-off – a not-so veiled jab at outspoken libertarian Javier Milei.
Terrorism in Latin America Hezbollah operations in South America: what we know 10-11-2023 18:42 Here is what we know – and don't – about Hezbollah's presence in South America, which the United States has called a major security risk.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil inflation falls below 5% 10-11-2023 15:08 Brazil's inflation rate fell below 5% per annum in October, officials said Friday, its first decline after three straight jumps, adding to the case for the central bank to continue growth-boosting interest-rate cuts.
ENVIRONMENT Storms kill three, displace thousands in southern South America 04-11-2023 13:16 El Niño leaves thousands displaced by floods in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.
Society Argentina is the world's most pet-rich country 24-09-2023 16:25 According to various surveys carried out to date, the vast majority of Argentines have at least one pet in their homes. by Dante Gabriel Bogani Sandez
ELECTION 2023 Lula declares that Argentine democracy is 'in danger' with Milei 21-09-2023 15:29 Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets his US counterpart Joe Biden; Leftist leader warns that democracy in Argentina is endangered by threat of Javier Milei winning the Presidency.