News of lula

Lula hugs it out with Milei, but saves warm embrace for Fernández de Kirchner

03-07-2025 18:43 The sharp divides roiling Latin American politics were visible in a pair of hugs.

Brazil's Lula pledges 'solidarity' as he visits house-confined Fernández de Kirchner

03-07-2025 18:34 Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, condemned to house arrest as she serves a six-year jail term for corruption-related offences, hosts Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at her apartment in Buenos Aires.

MERCOSUR SUMMIT

Milei urges Mercosur to pursue greater trade openness at summit

03-07-2025 11:58 President Javier Milei urges Mercosur partners to push for greater trade openness within the bloc as he opened a summit in Buenos Aires.

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Milei reportedly ‘not interested’ in meeting Mercosur peers

03-07-2025 00:48 Government source tell reporters that Argentina’s president has little interest in meeting him Mercosur peers – though a bilateral with Paraguay’s Santiago Peña could take place.

POLITICS & COURTS

Court approves Lula’s visit to house-bound Fernández de Kirchner

02-07-2025 14:11 Federal judge approves Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s request for Brazil’s leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to visit her in Buenos Aires while she’s under house arrest.

MERCOSUR SUMMIT IN BUENOS AIRES

Fate of EU free-trade deal looms as Milei hosts Mercosur summit

02-07-2025 12:54 Leaders of South America's Mercosur bloc will hold two days of talks in Buenos Aires, focused on a massive trade deal with the European Union being blocked by France.

CRISTINA & THE COURTS

Fernández de Kirchner seeks permission for Lula visit under house arrest

01-07-2025 21:43 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner requests permission to host Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a visit while serving her six-year jail term under house arrest.

MERCOSUR SUMMIT IN BUENOS AIRES

Milei to host Mercosur presidents amid tensions with Lula

29-06-2025 11:54 President will lead this week’s two-day two summit in Buenos Aires; Argentina’s leader to again push for a liberal shift in the South American trade bloc’s future.

FOREIGN POLICY

With same demands, isolated Milei prepares for Mercosur summit

26-06-2025 18:51 No bilateral meetings anticipated, but at the upcoming summit in Buenos Aires, there could be clashes with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – if not over their stance regarding the international situation involving Israel and Iran, then over the Brazilian leader’s potential visit to see Cristina Fernández de Kirchner serving house arrest.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Brazil's Lula urges Macron to seal EU-Mercosur trade deal

05-06-2025 12:14 Brazil's president urges French counterpart to "finalise" EU trade deal with Mercosur during visit to Paris.

TRADE & COMMERCE

Lula and Xi to ink new deals as Brazil shrugs off Trump’s trade threats

13-05-2025 08:51 Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and China’s Xi Jinping are set to ink new trade-related agreements in Beijing on Tuesday.

A POPE FOR LATIN AMERICA

Latin America bids fond farewell to its first pontiff

22-04-2025 13:17 News of death of Pope Francis moves many in Latin America; Personalities such as Lionel Messi and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pay tribute.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Brazil’s inflation hits two-year high amid rate hike debate

11-04-2025 11:26 Brazil’s annual inflation rate at its highest level in two years.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Trump’s tariffs may speed EU–Mercosur deal, says Orsi

11-04-2025 10:09 Uruguay’s president sees US protectionism pushing Europe to compromise on stalled trade pact

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Milei hails shared values during talks with Paraguay’s Peña

09-04-2025 21:32 President met up with his Paraguayan counterpart, holding various meetings in Asunción during brief overseas trip.

Interview

Brazilian ambassador: Lula-Milei differences have 'minimal effect on bilateral relations’

05-04-2025 06:34 Brazil’s Ambassador to Argentina on managing bilateral relations, despite the enmity between Javier Milei and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Julio Bitelli on Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, the Malvinas issue, the flirtation between Argentina and the United States, the trade imbalance and the importance of Vaca Muerta.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti

POLLING & SURVEYS

Latin Americans split on retaliation as Trump’s tariffs loom

01-04-2025 12:19 Half of Mexicans, Argentines and Brazilians want their governments to retaliate to Trump’s tariffs, with slightly smaller shares of Colombians and Chileans saying the same.

MERCOSUR TRADE

Lula urges Mercosur-Japan deal to counter Trump protectionism

26-03-2025 08:38 Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva calls for new trade deal between Mercosur bloc and Japan during visit to Tokyo.

INFLATION WOES

Brazil prices jump the most since 2022 in fresh blow to Lula

12-03-2025 11:53 Official data released Wednesday by Brazil's government showed consumer prices shot up 1.31% in February, the monthly biggest rise since March 2022.

CRIME & SECURITY

Crime fears offer opening to conservative leaders

07-03-2025 18:06 Crime and drug-trafficking surpass corruption and the economy as top issues for Latin American voters, giving hard-on-crime conservatives a boost in the upcoming election cycle.

POLITICS

Brazil's Bolsonaro bets on Trump card for survival

28-02-2025 15:22 Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro remains "calm" and places faith on US support to dodge a 40-year criminal sentence for allegedly plotting a coup following the 2022 elections.

STOCK MARKET

Early election trade is brewing for Latin America investors

24-02-2025 12:03 Investors make early bets on a right-wing swing in Latin America's upcoming election cycle, remembering when President Javier Milei's win sparked one of the most profitable trades in emerging markets last year.

PROFILE

Brazil's polarising ex-president mired in legal woes

19-02-2025 15:19 Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro prepares 2026 election campaign atop legacy of disrupting the 'democratic order,' destroying the Amazon rainforest and violating human rights.

GOVERNMENT COUP

Brazil prosecutor charges Bolsonaro over failed coup plot

19-02-2025 14:47 Brazil's attorney general charged ex-president Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt, including approval of a plan to poison his political rival amidst the 2022 election.

POPULARITY PLUMMET

Why Brazil's Lula is bleeding support

18-02-2025 12:00 Brazil's leftist president embarks on a national tour of interviews and public appearances as supporters lose faith in his economic policies and the far-right emboldens worldwide.

TRUMP TARIFF THREAT

Lula says if Trump hikes tariffs, Brazil will reciprocate

30-01-2025 13:42 "It's very simple: if he taxes Brazilian products, Brazil will reciprocate," warns Brazil's leftist leader.

TRUMP'S RETURN

Scalded by Colombia row, Latin America treads carefully with Trump

29-01-2025 22:44 Leaders across Latin American leaders are walking a tightrope in the Trump 2.0 era, as Gustavo Petro’s recent clash with US president goes to show.

Analysing Argentina

Latin America ducks and covers for Trump – except Milei

18-01-2025 06:37 With expected good access to the new White House, it will be up to Milei and his team to distinguish personal ideology from national interest and act accordingly.

by Marcelo J. García

latin america

Brazil's Bolsonaro denied passport for Trump inauguration

16-01-2025 17:58 Brazil's supreme court denied former president Jair Bolsonaro, under investigation for an alleged coup plot, from traveling to Donald Trump's inauguration next week.

LATIN AMERICA

Between Milei and Lula, Paraguay finance chief eyes austere path

07-01-2025 12:32 Paraguay Finance Minister Carlos Fernández argues sustainable fiscal policy matters in a region exposed to international crisis.

TRAGEDY IN BRAZIL

At least one dead and 16 missing after bridge collapse in Brazil

23-12-2024 21:13 One person has died and 16 are missing following the collapse of a bridge between Maranhão and Tocantins. President Lula promises federal support for rescue operations and an investigation.

BRAZILIAN POLITICS

Brazil's 2026 elections, without Lula or Bolsonaro?

21-12-2024 04:46 Brazil's 2026 presidential election may offer a field of candidates featuring neither incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nor far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro – a novel scenario for Argentina's giant neighbour.

TURBULENCE IN BRAZIL

Brazil market rout risks a crisis as Lula resists austerity push

19-12-2024 08:25 As the currency craters in Brazil, thrusting the country’s markets into the international spotlight for the first time in years, a grim reality is setting in for top economic aides to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. They are, they fear, powerless to do much to stop the panic.

BRAZILIAN POLITICS

Geraldo Alckmin, Lula’s rival-turned-vice-president, finds himself in unwanted limelight

19-12-2024 08:17 For decades, he was President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s political rival. Now his boss’s health issues have put Geraldo Alckmin at the centre of questions about Brazil’s future.

BRAZIL IN FOCUS

Lula’s age and health leave Brazil on edge about what comes next

14-12-2024 08:36 Brazil is pondering the future as Lula’s age and health become major parts of the political discussion and attention turns toward the next presidential election in 2026.

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT

Brazil's Lula 'in perfect neurological condition' post-op, says medical staff

13-12-2024 13:49 Update comes two days after Brazil president underwent emergency surgery, with doctors drilling through his skull to relieve pressure built up in protective intracranial membranes.

PRESIDENT HOSPITALISED

Brazil President Lula 'stable' after emergency surgery

10-12-2024 17:15 Brazil's 79-year-old President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is recovering from emergency surgery after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU reaches long-sought Mercosur deal despite French objections

06-12-2024 12:47 European Union and Mercosur bloc clinch trade deal despite objections of France, which will try to block process; Signing and ratification process could take as long as 18 months.

future of mercosur

Milei: Mercosur has ‘ended up becoming a prison’ for members

06-12-2024 12:28 Argentina’s President slams Mercosur protectionism at summit and calls for "new formula" for regional bloc, stating it has been a “stumbling block to the progress of Argentines.”

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU-Mercosur deal ‘in sight,’ says top European official

05-12-2024 20:49 Chances of a sealed deal seemed slim at press time as leaders in France, Italy renew criticism.

Mercosur Trade Deal

EU chief lands in South America to close contentious Mercosur deal

05-12-2024 13:21 EU chief Ursula von der Leyen lands in Montevideo at the LXV Mercosur Summit, where the goal is to hopefully close the Mercosur Trade Deal. With France's President Macron expressing his distaste, and Brazil's President Lula in support, there is much to discuss this week.

Lula sparks market rout

Lula ignores aides and sparks market rout that threatens economy

02-12-2024 12:32 Brazil's president Lula da Silva ignored his economic aides warning to not ignite any economic plans that will spark a selloff, and markets plunged immediately. The plan calls for limiting hikes to the minimum wage, earnings for the highest-paid civil servants and salary bonuses to low-income workers.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Lula: Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal

27-11-2024 23:29 Blockbuster deal between the 27-country European Union and Mercosur countries – Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – will not be decided only by France, declares Lula.

MERCOSUR SUMMIT

President Milei to attend first Mercosur Summit in Montevideo

26-11-2024 10:41 After his absence in Asunción, President Javier Milei is set to attend his first Mercosur summit in Montevideo next week; talks will focus on the long-stalled EU free trade deal, though Argentina's leader is expected to criticise the bloc's functioning.

URUGUAY ELECTIONS 2024

Frente Amplio returns to power in Uruguay as Orsi wins run-off

25-11-2024 10:44 Frente Amplio's Yamandú Orsi is elected president of Uruguay after Sunday's run-off; Leftist leader calls for national dialogue in a speech to supporters after results.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Milei and his Doppelganger

23-11-2024 06:00 There may be two Javier Mileis. One lives on Planet Earth and engages with people he said he loathed, and another fights fantasy battles in a parallel reality on social media. Which one will prevail?

by Marcelo J. García

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Long live pragmatism, carajo!

21-11-2024 18:04 President Javier Milei is adjusting his rhetoric to the challenges of power – from his frosty exchanges with Lula and his rapprochement with Xi Jinping, to his contradictions with Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni.

by Javier Calvo

FRENCH LEADER IN LATIN AMERICA

Macron praises EU-Chile trade agreement on Latin America tour

20-11-2024 20:53 French President Emmanuel Macron visits Chilean counterpart Gabriel Boric in Santiago on the last leg of a Latin America tour.

SINO-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS

Xi, Lula meet in Brasília to 'enhance' diplomatic ties

20-11-2024 10:52 Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Brazil to strengthen ties with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, focusing on enhancing trade relations, aligning development strategies, and marking 50 years of diplomatic relations.

by Ramon Sahmkow, AFP