Lula pushes back on US tariffs, says Brazil is the one running a trade deficit
Brazilian President Luiz InΓ‘cio Lula da Silva on Tuesday rejected the US government's argument that Brazil engages in βunreasonableβ practices in the bilateral relationship, arguing that it is Washington that runs a trade surplus with his country. If anyone should impose tariffs, he said, it would be Brazil.ΒΊ
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted on Friday to the intensive care unit of BrasΓliaβs DF Star hospital after being transferred from prison with high fever, low oxygen saturation, sweating and chills. The medical bulletin said tests confirmed bilateral bacterial bronchopneumonia and that the former president is receiving intravenous antibiotics and non-invasive clinical support.
The presidents of Brazil, Luiz InΓ‘cio Lula da Silva, and Paraguay, Santiago PeΓ±a, agreed on Sunday in Campo Grande to intensify negotiations over Annex C of the ItaipΓΊ treaty, the instrument that governs the financial terms and energy sales of the binational hydroelectric dam, one of the largest in the world.
The US-Iran conflict has propelled currencies from energy-exporting countries into the limelight, with windfall profits from exports of oil, gas and metals helping them to outperform the US dollar.
One year after the Trump administration launched its tariff offensive against more than 180 countries, Latin America presents a mixed picture: some economies lost competitiveness in the U.S. market, while others redirected exports or negotiated agreements to cushion the blow.
Brazilian President Luiz InΓ‘cio Lula da Silva was received on Thursday by his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, in his first official visit to Washington since his return to power in 2023 and the second face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, following a brief 45-minute encounter on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur last October. The meeting, formalized as a working session rather than a state visit, seeks to consolidate the fragile bilateral truce reached after one of the most severe diplomatic crises in two centuries of relations between the two most populous democracies in the Americas.
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.
Annual inflation in Brazil accelerated to 4.14% in March, pushed higher by rising fuel and food prices, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported on Friday. The figure reverses the slowdown recorded in February, when the index had eased to 3.81%.
Mariano PΓ‘ez, father of lawyer and influencer Agostina PΓ‘ez, was filmed imitating monkey gestures at a bar in Santiago del Estero β the same racist gesticulations that led to his daughter's indictment for racial slur in Brazil, where she spent over two months detained in Rio de Janeiro. The incident took place just hours after the young woman's return to her home province.
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer unveiled on Wednesday the first F-39E Gripen fighter jet manufactured in Brazil, a milestone the country's presidency called "unprecedented in Latin America." It is the first of 15 supersonic combat aircraft Embraer will produce at its facility in GaviΓ£o Peixoto, SΓ£o Paulo state, under a total contract for 36 jets ordered from Swedish firm Saab.
Brazilian group BTG Pactual, Latin America's largest investment bank, is awaiting authorisation from Uruguay's Central Bank (BCU) to begin operating in the local financial market following its $175 million acquisition of HSBC Uruguay, agreed in July 2025. Group executives expect regulatory approval to come through by mid-year, allowing them to begin operations gradually in the second half of 2026.