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  • ✇MercoPress
  • Brazil promulgates Mercosur-EU deal, completing domestic ratification of trade pact
    Brazil’s Congress on Tuesday promulgated the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the final domestic step required for the treaty to take effect on the Brazilian side. The ceremony was led by Senate and Congress President Davi Alcolumbre, who framed the pact as a sign in favor of trade, stability and integration at a time of wars and commercial tensions.
     

Brazil promulgates Mercosur-EU deal, completing domestic ratification of trade pact

18 March 2026 at 23:10

During the formal session, Alcolumbre said trade “is the key to world peace” and argued that countries that do business with one another tend to have more to lose from war than to gain from it Brazil’s Congress on Tuesday promulgated the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the final domestic step required for the treaty to take effect on the Brazilian side. The ceremony was led by Senate and Congress President Davi Alcolumbre, who framed the pact as a sign in favor of trade, stability and integration at a time of wars and commercial tensions.

Lula warns he will not allow others to seize Brazil's critical minerals

25 March 2026 at 00:23

Although Lula did not name any country, the remarks come during a week of heightened diplomatic tension over minerals. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he will not allow other countries to take the nation's rare earths and critical minerals, in remarks widely interpreted as a direct warning to the United States amid a growing dispute over control of these strategic resources.

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  • Brazilian judge suspends 12% crude oil export tax for five international oil companies
    A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro issued a preliminary injunction suspending the 12% crude oil export tax for five international companies operating in Brazil: Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Repsol Sinopec and Petrogal. The ruling represents an initial court victory for the oil companies in their dispute with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government over a levy they consider unconstitutional.
     

Brazilian judge suspends 12% crude oil export tax for five international oil companies

9 April 2026 at 01:08

Judge Humberto de Vasconcelos Sampaio ruled that the sudden imposition of the 12% rate amounts in practice to the creation of a new tax burden with a “merely revenue-raising” purpose A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro issued a preliminary injunction suspending the 12% crude oil export tax for five international companies operating in Brazil: Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Repsol Sinopec and Petrogal. The ruling represents an initial court victory for the oil companies in their dispute with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government over a levy they consider unconstitutional.

Dollar falls and São Paulo stock exchange surges after Trump's truce signal with Iran

24 March 2026 at 01:58

The Ibovespa index on the B3 exchange rose 3.24% to close at 181,931 points, recovering Friday's 2.25% loss. At its peak, the index approached 183,000 points. Brazilian financial markets posted one of their best sessions of the year on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a five-day postponement of strikes against Iran's energy infrastructure, citing “productive conversations” with Tehran.

São Paulo stock exchange reverses losses and closes higher on US-Iran negotiation signals

7 April 2026 at 20:59

The Ibovespa, the Brazilian market's benchmark index, finished at 188,258 points, stringing together a sixth consecutive session of gains, though the last three with near-zero variations The São Paulo stock exchange reversed its losses in the final minutes of trading and closed Tuesday with a slight gain of 0.05%, lifted by President Donald Trump's statement that he is in "heated negotiations" with Iran just hours before his ultimatum for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz expired.

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  • Brazil's iGaming Market Turns 15 Months Old With Big Questions Still Open
    SiGMA South America closed in Sao Paulo on April 10th drawing more than 18,000 delegates and over 400 exhibitors for three days of debate about the future of online gaming across Latin America. The centrepiece discussion was unavoidable: one year on from the launch of Brazil's regulated iGaming market on January 1, 2025, what has actually been achieved and what remains unresolved?
     

Brazil's iGaming Market Turns 15 Months Old With Big Questions Still Open

23 April 2026 at 00:15

Photo: Unsplash SiGMA South America closed in Sao Paulo on April 10th drawing more than 18,000 delegates and over 400 exhibitors for three days of debate about the future of online gaming across Latin America. The centrepiece discussion was unavoidable: one year on from the launch of Brazil's regulated iGaming market on January 1, 2025, what has actually been achieved and what remains unresolved?

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  • Brazil’s central bank starts easing cycle, cuts Selic rate to 14.75%
    Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday cut the Selic benchmark rate from 15% to 14.75% a year, marking the first reduction since May 2024 and the formal start of an easing cycle that policymakers had already flagged. In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee, or Copom, said the move was consistent with its strategy to bring inflation back to target and noted that the external environment had become “more uncertain” because of the intensification of geopolitical conflicts
     

Brazil’s central bank starts easing cycle, cuts Selic rate to 14.75%

18 March 2026 at 22:44

The decision comes as Brazil combines softer inflation with signs of slower economic growth Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday cut the Selic benchmark rate from 15% to 14.75% a year, marking the first reduction since May 2024 and the formal start of an easing cycle that policymakers had already flagged. In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee, or Copom, said the move was consistent with its strategy to bring inflation back to target and noted that the external environment had become “more uncertain” because of the intensification of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.

Brazil to expand Antarctica activities with new polar vessel Comandante Saldanha

23 March 2026 at 02:49

The vessel has a displacement of 5.800 tons plus a hangar to host two helicopters, plus the landing platform. Brazil is expanding its Antarctica presence and activities with the introduction of a new polar vessel currently under construction in the county. The vessel “Almirante Saldanha” is considered an operational and scientific leap for the Brazilian Navy in the context of the strategic development of the Brazilian Antarctic Program.

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  • Argentine lawyer held in Brazil on racial slur charges faces new uncertainty after court reversal
    Agostina Páez, a 29-year-old Argentine lawyer and influencer from the province of Santiago del Estero, has been held in Rio de Janeiro since January 14, when she was filmed making racist gestures toward employees of a bar in the Ipanema neighborhood. The video quickly went viral and led to three criminal complaints for racial slur, a crime that carries a penalty of two to five years in prison per offense under Brazilian law.
     

Argentine lawyer held in Brazil on racial slur charges faces new uncertainty after court reversal

29 March 2026 at 11:22

Páez was filmed making racist gestures toward employees of a bar in the Ipanema neighborhood Agostina Páez, a 29-year-old Argentine lawyer and influencer from the province of Santiago del Estero, has been held in Rio de Janeiro since January 14, when she was filmed making racist gestures toward employees of a bar in the Ipanema neighborhood. The video quickly went viral and led to three criminal complaints for racial slur, a crime that carries a penalty of two to five years in prison per offense under Brazilian law.

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  • Lula and Peña agree to accelerate Itaipú treaty review
    The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Paraguay, Santiago Peña, agreed on Sunday in Campo Grande to intensify negotiations over Annex C of the Itaipú treaty, the instrument that governs the financial terms and energy sales of the binational hydroelectric dam, one of the largest in the world.
     

Lula and Peña agree to accelerate Itaipú treaty review

23 March 2026 at 01:53

Annex C stipulates that both countries are entitled to 50% of the energy generated, but requires whichever party does not use its full share to sell the surplus to the other at preferential rates The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Paraguay, Santiago Peña, agreed on Sunday in Campo Grande to intensify negotiations over Annex C of the Itaipú treaty, the instrument that governs the financial terms and energy sales of the binational hydroelectric dam, one of the largest in the world.

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  • “We are oppressed in Brazil”: thousands of conservative Brazilians seek new life in Paraguay
    Hundreds of Brazilians camped overnight on beach chairs, plastic benches and tarps outside an immigration center in Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil, to secure a spot in a Paraguayan government drive to fast-track residency applications. Some organized an improvised barbecue on a barrel while they waited. Others had traveled more than 1,500 kilometers by bus. All shared a common thread: the desire to leave Brazil for reasons they describe as political, economic
     

“We are oppressed in Brazil”: thousands of conservative Brazilians seek new life in Paraguay

16 April 2026 at 23:08

Paraguay broke a record in 2025 by granting 40,600 residency permits to foreigners. More than half — 23,500 — went to Brazilians, far outpacing the 4,300 Argentines in second place Hundreds of Brazilians camped overnight on beach chairs, plastic benches and tarps outside an immigration center in Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil, to secure a spot in a Paraguayan government drive to fast-track residency applications. Some organized an improvised barbecue on a barrel while they waited. Others had traveled more than 1,500 kilometers by bus. All shared a common thread: the desire to leave Brazil for reasons they describe as political, economic and ideological, according to a report by BBC News Brasil.

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