Brazil Reports

São Paulo, Brazil — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva used his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday to deliver a broad defense of national sovereignty, while sharply criticizing Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the use of tariffs as political leverage, and what he described as renewed attempts by powerful countries to interfere in Latin America. Speaking less than two weeks before Brazil’s October 4 election, Lula said the international system w

São Paulo, Brazil – Brazil has fined TikTok owner ByteDance R$153.7 million ($29.8 million) for improperly processing the personal data of children and teenagers, the first financial penalty imposed on a social media company by the country’s data protection authority. The National Data Protection Authority, known by its Portuguese acronym ANPD, said TikTok failed to prevent minors from having their data processed without a valid legal basis and lacked sufficient safeguards to stop childre

São Paulo, Brazil –  It was 175 kilometers off the coast of the eastern state of Amapá, beneath almost three kilometers of water, that Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras made a discovery President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has described as a “passport to the future.”  On August 14, rock samples and electrical logging indicated the presence of hydrocarbons in the Atlantic Ocean, some 500km (310 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River. The discovery took place in the Foz do

Global South World,  the international digital news outlet,  launched a Portuguese-language platform in Brazil, marking its first expansion into Latin America’s largest media market. The new website, Global South World Brasil, will publish coverage of politics, business, international affairs, lifestyle and general news for Brazilian audiences, following the company’s goal to grow its audience in the region. Based in São Paulo, the site and associated social media platforms

Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has denied involvement in the use of his likeness in an AI-generated video which appeared at the launch of his son Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign on Saturday.  Brazil’s Supreme Court is investigating whether the case breaches a law banning the jailed former leader from using social media, giving interviews or otherwise communicating publicly. The scandal comes amid Brazil’s heated presidential race in which Flávio Bolsonaro i

A 12.5% United States tariff on all Brazilian goods came into effect today just days after the White House slapped a 25% levy on a range of exports from the South American country.  Washington has accused Brazil of unfair trade practices toward U.S. companies and poor enforcement of ‘forced labor’ standards. The 25% tariffs target goods including furniture, ethanol, machinery, footwear and sugar while the 12.5% levy – also applied to 59 other countries – is universal. The Office of

New York, US — Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a pre-candidate in Brazil’s upcoming elections, met on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.  While Bolsonaro’s eldest son shared a photo on X alongside Trump in the Oval Office, the Republican president has not commented publicly on the meeting as of the time of publication, nor did the meeting appear on his official agenda.  On Wednesday, Flávio posted a photo with C

Chinese multinational ZTE Corporation recently hosted the fifth edition of its Broadband User Congress, themed “Monetize Your Intelligent Broadband”, in São Paulo, Brazil.  The event brought together more than 300 senior executives from leading ISPs, operators, local government, industry associations, industry experts, and ecosystem partners across Brazil and Latin America. The company is moving forward in Brazil and the broader Latin American region, seeking to unlock

São Paulo, Brazil – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump met yesterday at the White House.  The meeting lasted about three hours and was attended by Brazilian ministers, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade representatives. While the two leaders have disagreed on a range of issues – from tariffs to extraditions – since Trump took office last year, they reported that the meeting was productive. “Just conclud

It’s no secret that Brazil is one of the most influential tech markets in the Southern Hemisphere, driven by rapid digitalization, a thriving startup ecosystem, and significant investment by companies small and large. As Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil occupies a unique position within the region. The country’s vast domestic market, highly skilled workforce, and growing innovation hubs have attracted both multinational corporations and high-growth technology firms s

In an era where company culture is often discussed in boardrooms and strategy decks, Portuguese entrepreneur Fernando Gaspar Barros has taken a radically different approach: turning it into a live, global cultural movement. His company, Brands Like Bands, is no ordinary festival. It is the world’s only music event dedicated exclusively to bands formed within companies, and in 2026, it is entering its most ambitious phase yet, with a major expansion into Brazil. What began as an innova

With mounting international and regional pressure to combat organised crime, Brazil has sought to strengthen its domestic security strategies. However, some experts argue that the country’s greatest vulnerability lies within its own prison system, where criminal factions are not contained, but consolidated. “In Brazil, prisons have become instruments of cohesion for criminal groups,” noted Roberto Uchôa de Oliveira Santos, a public security specialist and former employee of the civil and fede

São Paulo, Brazil — Jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro will today begin serving the rest of his sentence on house arrest after a weeklong hospital stay. Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year and three-month prison sentence for an attempted coup d’état after losing his re-election bid in 2022, was hospitalized at DF Star hospital in Brasília, the capital, for more than a week due to health complications. A medical bulletin indicated that the 71-year-old ally of U.S. President Do

It is no secret that Brazil has become one of the most influential technology markets in the Southern Hemisphere, supported by rapid digital transformation and an increasingly talked about startup scene. As Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil occupies a unique position within the region. The country’s massive domestic market, highly skilled workforce, and expanding innovation hubs have attracted both multinational corporations and high-growth technology companies looking to b

Brazil is facing heightened pressure both internally and from the United States to designate criminal gangs operating in the country as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).  Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 8 and pushed back against the designation, arguing it could create precedents for military intervention similar to the recent American operations against Venezuela’s alleged drug trafficking networks. The dispute intersects with Braz

As of 2026, Brazil is home to one of the largest pet populations in the world, trailing only behind China and the U.S. with over 168 million registered pets.  The country represents the largest and most mature pet care market in Latin America, reflecting a broad shift in how households view animals: increasingly humanized and essential to family life.  More widely, Brazilian culture has recently come under international spotlight for its hard stance in favor of animal rights and

São Paulo, Brazil — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a bilateral agreement last Saturday involving critical minerals and rare earth elements.   The objective is to promote “reciprocal investments” in the exploration, mining, and development of infrastructure for rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals in both countries, according to the signed document. The agreement comes amid a global race to s

São Paulo, Brazil —  The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement last Thursday warning Brazilians about the risks of voluntary enlistment in foreign wars. The Itamaraty Palace cited that, in addition to risking their lives, mercenaries may also face criminal prosecution.  The warning follows widely publicized cases of Brazilians dying in the war in Ukraine in recent months. Under the new guidelines, citizens could be held accountable for crimes committed i

São Paulo, Brazil — Brazilian Supreme Court Justice José Antonio Dias Toffoli on Thursday recused himself from a case involving Banco Master, for which he was the rapporteur. The bank allegedly attempted to sell US$2.43 billion in falsified loan portfolios to the state-owned BRB bank in Brasília.   Toffoli’s recusal occurred on the same day that Brazilian media reported that the judge was named in a Federal Police investigation as someone who exchanged messages with Daniel Vor

São Paulo, Brazil — Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke over the phone with China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, on Friday, according to the Chinese minister of Foreign Affairs. In a post on X, Mao Ning said the two leaders agreed to advance mutually through “beneficial cooperation across the board”, strengthening the already intimate relations between both countries.  “Facing the turbulent international landscape, China and Brazil, as important members of the Global Sout