Brazil's Federal Police formally charged 16 current and former employees of airline Voepass on August 6 for the August 2024 crash of an ATR turboprop near Vinhedo, São Paulo state, that killed all 62 people on board; Agência Brasil reported the police found the aircraft was not fit to fly but the company cleared it for departure anyway; the charges follow a two-year investigation and CENIPA's final accident report
A Reuters poll of economists published August 3 shows consensus for a fourth consecutive 25bp cut by Brazil's central bank, which would bring the Selic benchmark rate to 14.00%; market analysts trimmed their 2026 year-end Selic forecast for the first time since March, reflecting persistent inflation risks that could slow the easing path after August
Brazil's Workers' Party proclaimed Lula its candidate for an unprecedented fourth term on Sunday, with the incumbent anchoring the bid on sovereignty and defence amid Trump-era interference concerns
Both chambers of Paraguay's Congress voted to formally repudiate Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who visited an arms factory on July 24 and said Paraguay 'one fine day decided to invade Brazil' to justify defense spending; Paraguayan legislators and historians said Lula's framing cast Paraguay as the sole aggressor in the 1864-1870 war that killed roughly 90% of the country's pre-war adult male population, and the Chamber of Deputies formed a commission to demand return of war trophies held in Brazil, including the Cannon El Cristiano
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva dismissed Argentina's President Javier Milei with an ironic 'Who's that guy?' on July 27-28, after Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described Milei's July 26 insults as a 'provocation unprecedented in 200 years of bilateral relations'; the first formal diplomatic encounter ended without any agreement, Argentina's presidential palace refused to apologize, and Brazil's Finance Minister called Milei a 'clown'
Argentina's President Javier Milei called Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a convict and a thief at a political rally in São Paulo on July 26 supporting Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy; Brazil's government recalled its ambassador Julio Bitelli from Buenos Aires for consultations, describing the relationship as a diplomatic crisis, while Argentina's presidential palace acknowledged political relations are now 'critical'
A 25% US tariff on most Brazilian goods took effect on July 22, with the Lula government choosing not to retaliate immediately despite pressure from Vice President Alckmin and industry; Brazil's government says it sees no chance of negotiation before elections in both countries, and analysts note the tariffs are paradoxically strengthening President Lula against Flávio Bolsonaro in the upcoming Brazilian elections
The US announced a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports under Section 301, after a yearlong investigation concluded Brazil had engaged in unfair trade practices; a separate forced-labor probe could add 12.5% more within days; Brazil formally condemned the move and vowed to retaliate
Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 13 barred Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate, from visiting his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest, for 90 days, effectively blocking all contact until after the first round of Brazil's October 2026 elections; the trigger was Flávio reading Jair's handwritten letter on YouTube, violating Jair's social media ban
The US plans to impose a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports starting next week under Section 301, after a yearlong investigation found Brazil engaged in unfair trade practices; a separate US forced-labor probe could add another 12.5% on top, with a decision due within days
Five-time champions Brazil, missing Raphinha and Paqueta, take on a Norway side that has never lost to them; co-host Mexico, unbeaten at home and with 13 goals in five matches, face England at the Estadio Azteca
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro sent a letter to the US Trade Representative on July 2 asking Trump to hold off proposed 25% tariffs until after Brazil's October presidential vote; President Lula fired back on X calling it an 'act of treason'
Foreign Minister Wadephul made the commitment at the Asunción Mercosur summit; France and five others had previously opposed; the trade pillar has applied provisionally since May
Asunción hosts a bloc split three ways: Argentina's Washington pact and CPTPP bid, Venezuela's re-entry, and a stalled EU agreement
Brazil's autonomous central bank sets the Selic rate and targets 3% inflation; one of the world's highest real rates makes its decisions a bellwether for emerging-market monetary policy.
The world's most-traded tropical commodity by value, connecting 25 million farming households across the southern hemisphere to import markets in Europe and North America.
The world's most produced grain by volume, grown on every inhabited continent; US and Brazilian output, Chinese demand, and US ethanol policy jointly set the global price.
Criminal extraction and trafficking of gold outside licensing rules funds Sahel insurgencies and launders drug proceeds across Latin America and South-East Asia, accelerated by record prices.
Brazil's three-term president and declared 2026 fourth-term candidate who shaped Latin American labor politics and social policy over five decades.
The EU–South America free-trade deal signed January 2026 after 25 years of negotiation, covering 700 million people and a quarter of world GDP, provisionally applied since May 2026.
Brazil's financial capital hosts Latin America's largest startup ecosystem, anchored by fintech giants, deep engineering talent, and a 215-million-person domestic market.
The world's most-traded oilseed, produced mainly in Brazil, the US, and Argentina, and the protein backbone of global livestock feed and biofuel supply chains.
A globally traded bulk sweetener sourced from sugarcane and sugar beet; supply shocks from Brazil and India set food-import costs across South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
The largest US bilateral trade corridor in South America, worth US$127.6 billion in 2024, is under acute strain from Trump-era tariffs and a June 2026 USTR Section 301 action.
A third straight quarter-point cut paired with a hawkish communiqué, election-year fiscal stimulus and El Niño flagged as upside risks
Four years two months and ineligibility to 2038 for coercion, tried in absentia for seeking US sanctions on the court trying his father
At 80, Lula runs for an unprecedented fourth term with the right's standard-bearer dogged by scandal and his father jailed
The US Trade Representative determined Brazil's acts on digital trade, deforestation, IP and ethanol access burden US commerce; the proposed 25% tariff covers most Brazilian goods with 1,600+ HTS exemptions; President Lula called it unjustified and threatened retaliation
A 30-day deadline lapses, Washington moves on a 25% levy, and Lula readies a retaliation law months before facing Flávio Bolsonaro
Brazilian artisanal permits laundered 25 tonnes of gold from likely-illegal sites; mercury contamination pushes deeper into Cusco and Puno
Jailed and barred, Jair Bolsonaro hands the flag to Senator Flávio; an 80-year-old Lula seeks a fourth term with the race tied
The right's 2026 candidate confirms a recording asking ex-banker Daniel Vorcaro to release money for a biopic of his father, widening Lula's lead
Brussels bans Brazilian meat, poultry and honey from September over growth-promoter use, weeks after Mercosur-EU took provisional effect
The chamber blocks AGU Jorge Messias 42–34 in a historic rebuke tied to its own president; Lula sends the name back
From Algeria in July to South Sudan's long-delayed vote in December, who votes, when, and where power actually turns over