Latest news with #Brasilia
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Lawyers for Brazil's Bolsonaro say he did not violate social media ban
BRASILIA, July 22 (Reuters) - Lawyers for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that he did not violate a court-ordered social media ban, after the top judge accused him of breaching the order and demanded an explanation from his lawyers. In a document sent to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing an investigation into allegations that Bolsonaro plotted a coup, Bolsonaro's lawyers asked the court to clarify the exact scope of the social media ban. Moraes ordered the ban on Friday, along with mandating he wear an ankle bracelet, among other measures, alleging he courted the interference of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has tied steep new tariffs on Brazilian goods to what he called a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro. On Monday, Moraes accused Bolsonaro of violating the order by giving an interview to journalists, pointing to clips the news outlets later posted on their social media accounts. The judge gave Bolsonaro's legal team 24 hours to explain the media appearance, warning that failure to comply could lead to an arrest warrant. Earlier on Monday, Moraes had issued a clarification of Friday's ruling, which stated that Bolsonaro's use of social media included use through third parties. The clarification generated debate among legal experts regarding if it would include interviews to news outlets. Bolsonaro's lawyers on Tuesday argued that media outlets sharing his remarks on social media was an "uncontrollable" development beyond their client's control. They have asked the justice to clarify the exact scope of the order and whether it prohibits giving interviews to the press. The lawyers added that Bolsonaro will make no further public remarks until the court provides that clarification.
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil eases 2025 spending curbs needed to comply with fiscal rules
BRASILIA, July 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's government on Tuesday eased the total spending curbs previously deemed necessary to comply with fiscal rules, after raising its net revenue forecast by 27.1 billion reais ($4.87 billion) this year, according to its latest revenue and expenditure report. The Finance and Planning ministries fully eliminated the spending freeze announced in May to meet this year's fiscal target, which had totaled 20.7 billion reais. The boost was driven mainly by an upward revision of 17.9 billion reais in projected revenue from natural resource exploration. The report also slightly raised to 10.7 billion reais, from 10.6 billion previously, the spending block needed to comply with the cap on expenditure growth under the new fiscal framework approved during the administration of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2023. As a result, the total amount of spending curbs - which had stood at 31.3 billion reais when including the now-reversed freeze - fell to 10.7 billion reais. The higher estimate for public revenue follows congressional approval of a measure that clears the way for an extra oil auction involving uncontracted areas in the offshore pre-salt region, a move first reported by Reuters in April. This year's fiscal target is a primary deficit of zero, with a tolerance band of 0.25% of GDP in either direction. That means the government can post a primary deficit of up to 31 billion reais and still remain in compliance with the goal. The government now forecasts a primary deficit of 26.3 billion reais, excluding nearly 50 billion reais in court-ordered payments, which the Supreme Court has ruled should not be included in the fiscal target calculation. ($1 = 5.5681 reais)
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Defiant Bolsonaro says he is the one to stop Lula, China and Trump tariffs
Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro gives a press conference outside the Senate in Brasilia. (AP pic) BRASILIA : With dark jeans pulled over an ankle monitor attached just hours earlier, Brazil's right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro made clear on Friday that the humiliation of court-ordered restraints would not curb his role in global politics. In a defiant interview with Reuters at his party's offices, raided at dawn in the latest crackdown from the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro cast himself as the man to renegotiate US tariffs, curb Chinese influence and beat back leftists in Brazil. 'They want to get me out of the political game next year,' he said, referring to an election in which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to seek a fourth term. 'Without me in the race, Lula could beat anyone.' Even after Brazil's Supreme Court barred him on Friday from contact with foreign officials, the ex-president insisted he wants to meet with US President Donald Trump, who slapped a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods last week and demanded an end to Bolsonaro's trial for trying to overturn the last election. While some allies worry Trump's tactic is backfiring, tying Bolsonaro to the economic fallout and rallying support behind Lula, the ex-president remained supportive of his ally in the White House. 'I would never give advice to Trump. Who am I? I respect him,' said Bolsonaro, seated at a table with two volumes within reach: a copy of the Brazilian constitution and a magazine with Trump on the cover. 'His country is an example for us. We're not an example for them.' In court orders on Friday, based on allegations that Bolsonaro had courted Trump's intervention in legal matters, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes slapped the ex-president with a curfew and ankle monitor and banned him from using social media, approaching foreign embassies or dealing with foreign officials. Bolsonaro called Moraes a 'dictator' and described the latest court orders as acts of 'cowardice'. 'I feel supreme humiliation,' he said when asked how it felt to wear the ankle monitor. 'I am 70 years old, I was president of the republic for four years.' Bolsonaro denied any plans to leave the country but said he would meet with Trump if he could get back his passport, which police seized last year. He also said he wanted to discuss Trump's tariff threat with the top US diplomat in Brazil. Trump has praised Bolsonaro but told journalists this week that he is 'not like a friend'. When pressed for details of their relationship, the Brazilian former army captain began describing the advance of Chinese interests in Latin America. 'China is taking over Brazil. Many see that in Brazil I am the person who can stop China, as long as I have a warlike, nuclear nation behind me. Which one? Up north', he said. He said the BRICS bloc of developing nations, formed originally by Brazil, Russia, India and China, had become a 'brotherhood of dictatorships and war criminals'. While hosting the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro this month, Lula compared Trump to an unwanted 'emperor', drawing the ire of the US president, who threatened to raise tariffs on the group for its 'anti-American policies'.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil to investigate suspected FX insider trading on US tariffs
By Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized an investigation into the alleged use of privileged information on foreign exchange transactions before the announcement of the 50% U.S. tariff on all Brazilian imports in July, according to a Monday court filing. On Saturday, the solicitor general's office, known as AGU, had requested Supreme Court authorization to look into the trades after a news report suggested a significant volume of Brazilian reals were sold in anticipation of the tariff announcement, which could suggest insider trading. The news report was based on a chart posted by Spencer T. Hakimian, founder at New York-based hedge fund Tolou Capital Management, that showed how the Brazilian real moved on June 9, when Trump announced a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil. He told Reuters on June 10 that he had no further data or information to back his comments. Tolou manages $82 million in a global macro hedge fund strategy. "I am very happy to see Brazil looking into something suspicious. I wish the U.S. would be responsible enough to do the same," Hakimian said, after learning about the probe. The new probe is part of the investigation into the use of international tariffs to coerce Brazil's court system to drop the case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 presidential elections. Brazil's attorney general is investigating Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, over allegations that he courted interference by Trump. The crisis also prompted Brazil's Supreme Court to issue new restrictive measures against the former president, such as wearing an electronic ankle monitor. (By Lisandra Paraguassu and Maria Carolina Marcello; additional reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York; writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Stephen Coates) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil to investigate suspected FX insider trading on US tariffs
BRASILIA, July 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized an investigation into the alleged use of privileged information on foreign exchange transactions before the announcement of the 50% U.S. tariff on all Brazilian imports in July, according to a Monday court filing. On Saturday, the solicitor general's office, known as AGU, had requested Supreme Court authorization to look into the trades after a news report suggested a significant volume of Brazilian reals were sold in anticipation of the tariff announcement, which could suggest insider trading. The news report was based on a chart posted by Spencer T. Hakimian, founder at New York-based hedge fund Tolou Capital Management, that showed how the Brazilian real moved on June 9, when Trump announced a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil. He told Reuters on June 10 that he had no further data or information to back his comments. Tolou manages $82 million in a global macro hedge fund strategy. "I am very happy to see Brazil looking into something suspicious. I wish the U.S. would be responsible enough to do the same," Hakimian said, after learning about the probe. The new probe is part of the investigation into the use of international tariffs to coerce Brazil's court system to drop the case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 presidential elections. Brazil's attorney general is investigating Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, over allegations that he courted interference by Trump. The crisis also prompted Brazil's Supreme Court to issue new restrictive measures against the former president, such as wearing an electronic ankle monitor.
