Search Login Free trial
Latin America Weekly

Peronists brace for first-ever Senate loss

Sep 15, 2021 14:50 10 min read (Updated: Sep 15, 2021 15:39)

Hello and welcome back to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: What Argentina’s primary midterms mean for Peronists. Latin America’s climate shortcomings. Trust in Chile’s constituent assembly waning.

Is Argentina’s century-old Peronist congressional streak ending?

peronists Street posters in Buenos Aires celebrate General Juan Domingo Peron. Photo: Alexandr Vorobev/Shutterstock
Street posters in Buenos Aires celebrate General Juan Domingo Peron. Photo: Alexandr Vorobev/Shutterstock

In 1972, Argentina’s iconic leader Juan Domingo Perón described the country’s political landscape at the...

Access all of The Brazilian Report

Start your 7-day free trial (max 4 articles)

electoral observers
Power

Brazilian courts eyeing record number of election observers

1 day ago • TBR Newsroom
third way capitulates tebet misinformation Senator Simone Tebet is set to be the third way's presidential candidate. Photo: Roque de Sá/SF
Power

Brazil’s “third way” admits defeat

It has become clear that the center-right will not break the Lula-Bolsonaro dichotomy. So parties have stopped trying and are setting more pedestrian goals

1 day ago • Amanda Audi
The 2022 election for Congress will feature new rules, which will make it more difficult for tiny parties to get representation in the House.
Power

Election changes should reduce fragmentation. And benefit the ‘Big Center’

The 2022 election for Congress will feature new rules, which will make it more difficult for tiny parties to get representation in the House

3 days ago • Beatriz Rey and Amanda Audi
Voter registration office in Curitiba, Paraná. Photo: Eduardo Matysiak/Futura Press/Folhapress
Power

Meet the Brazilian voter

The center has been squeezed out of Brazilian politics, and successful candidates appeal to their opponent’s critics rather than the middle ground. In this context, certain segments of the Brazilian electorate hold the key to this year’s election results

5 days ago • Amanda Audi
One governor's race foreshadows complicated election dynamics Brazil will face
Power

One governor’s race foreshadows complicated election dynamics Brazil will face

Political mess in Alagoas state could have important lessons for the general elections, as House Speaker Arthur Lira flexes his electoral muscles in his home state

2 weeks ago • Beatriz Rey
Swiss bank UBS BB say Petrobras is indeed advancing in its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) agenda, albeit in a timid fashion. 
Insider

UBS BB: Petrobras makes ESG progress but still faces challenges

2 hours ago • Ana Ferraz
Jair Bolsonaro meets Elon Musk
Insider

Jair Bolsonaro meets Elon Musk

6 hours ago • Euan Marshall
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes. Photo: Wilson Dias/ABr
Insider

Economy Ministry maintains projection for 2022 GDP

1 day ago • Ana Ferraz
In bid for raises, Feds could stop registering new weapons
Insider

In bid for raises, Feds could stop registering new weapons

1 day ago • TBR Newsroom
Congonhas airports Photo: Rovena Rosa/ABr
Insider

Government approves plans to privatize 16 Brazilian airports

1 day ago • Ana Ferraz
latin america paho A woman helping her husband put on a face mask in Rosario, Argentina. Photo: Wirestock Creators
Coronavirus

PAHO: Covid cases “continue to rise” in Latin America

23 hours ago • Lucas Berti
Covid-related hospitalizations São Paulo
Coronavirus

Uptick in Covid-related hospitalizations in São Paulo puts experts on alert

1 day ago • Lucas Berti
São Paulo drops vaccine mandates and loosens mask requirements
Coronavirus

São Paulo drops vaccine mandates and loosens mask requirements

3 days ago • TBR Newsroom
covid deaths Health Secretariat of Duque de Caxias, a city in Rio de Janeiro state. Photo: Jorge Hely Veiga/Shutterstock
Coronavirus

Covid deaths in Brazil at lowest in two years. But cases are on the up

4 days ago • TBR Newsroom
Covid protocols inflight services airports
Coronavirus

Health regulators ease Covid protocols on flights, in airports

1 week ago • TBR Newsroom
lula poll ipespe
2022 Race

Presidential polling curves begin to flatten

7 hours ago • TBR Newsroom
telegram fake news
2022 Race

Telegram inks deal with electoral authorities to curb fake news

2 days ago • Amanda Audi
ukraine jab mamae falei
2022 Race

Hard-right politician loses political rights over Ukraine jab

2 days ago • TBR Newsroom
Polling workers in Bahia during the 2020 municipal elections. Photo: Joa Souza/Shutterstock
2022 Race

Brazilian polling station officers want extra security

2 days ago • Constance Malleret
Bolsonaro Rio birthplace Lula
2022 Race

Bolsonaro rises in Rio, his political birthplace, to tie with Lula

3 days ago • Amanda Audi
ev tesla vale mining
Business

How the global EV boom can benefit Brazil’s mining sector

As the electric vehicle market booms, surging demand for battery-related minerals creates opportunities in mining – but Brazil has a long way to go to seize these opportunities and diversify its mining sector

3 days ago • Constance Malleret
Petrobras CEO Photo: Ricardo Borges/Folhapress
Business

One month in, Petrobras CEO already in the hot seat

Petrobras head José Mauro Coelho could be facing premature dismissal as President Bolsonaro leads an onslaught against rising fuel prices in Brazil, seeking electoral gains

4 days ago • Amanda Audi
fintech stock market
Business

Market Roundup: Why Brazilian fintechs are crashing

Fintech Nubank went from being Latin America's most valuable bank to seeing its share price drop by more than half. And it's not the only Brazilian fintech facing struggles

1 week ago • Ana Ferraz
airlines Avianca and Gol will operate under the same parent company. Photo: Luke and Karla Travel/Shutterstock
Business

Two major Latin American airlines to team up

Gol, Brazil's biggest domestic airline, and Colombia's Avianca will operate under a UK-based holding company

1 week ago • Ana Ferraz and Amanda Audi
Big business wants constitutional hedge against Lula
Business

Big business wants constitutional hedge against Lula

Influential businessmen fear the economic policies Lula could implement and lobby for pro-market principles to be included in the Brazilian Constitution

2 weeks ago • André Spigariol
supreme court big tech data
Tech

Supreme Court to rule on its access to social media data

A long-running case on how Brazilian authorities can access data held by Big Tech firms is due to be tried in the Supreme Court. At stake is the celerity of Brazilian investigations into digital crimes

4 days ago • Amanda Audi
5g chip shortage
Tech

Tech Roundup: Chip shortage delays 5G

Implementation of 5G in major Brazilian cities is likely to take longer than first expected, as companies lack equipment amid semiconductor shortage

6 days ago • Ana Ferraz
Data protection and academia
Tech

Tech Roundup: Data protection and academia

The legal uncertainty around what is and isn't allowed can be a deterrent to innovation and science

2 weeks ago • Ana Ferraz
semiconductor industry streaming
Tech

Tech Roundup: Brazil’s wants to attract semiconductor producers

The government is hoping Brazil can become a major semiconductor hub, offering an alternative to Asian markets

3 weeks ago • Ana Ferraz
unicorns 5g biotech startups
Tech

Tech Roundup: Why are unicorns firing so many people?

After growing at astonishing rates, Brazilian unicorns have now begun a wave of layoffs

4 weeks ago • Ana Ferraz
china zero covid economy
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #198: China raises red flags in Brazil

April economic data from China came worse than expected. Given the sheer importance of the Asian giant to Brazil, that is something for President Jair Bolsonaro, who seeks re-election in October, to worry about

2 days ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
lula launches legacy
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #197: Lula launches lunge for legacy

Former President Lula officially began the race for an unprecedented third presidential term. The challenges he will face are far greater this time around

1 week ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
biden elections
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #196: Will Biden keep a close eye on Brazil’s elections?

A group of researchers from the U.S.-based Washington Brazil Office believe the threat of democratic rupture in Brazil is very real, and they want Joe Biden to react

2 weeks ago • Euan Marshall
bolsonaro supreme court
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #195: Bolsonaro rattles institutions. Could they break?

When the holder of the highest office in the land openly challenges judicial decisions, it spells a bad omen for the endurance of democratic institutions

3 weeks ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
pandemic bolsonaro
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #194: Jair calls time on the pandemic

After over two years and more than 660,000 deaths in Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro is claiming "victory" over Covid-19 — but the government deserves no credit after its hapless pandemic response

1 month ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
justice journalism journalists
Society

Brazilian judges bullying journalists into silence

Award-winning investigative journalist Rubens Valente is on the hook for a massive defamation suit filed by a Supreme Court justice — and confirmed by the Supreme Court itself

6 days ago • Euan Marshall
'Disappearance' of indigenous community sheds light on Yanomami gold mining drama
Society

‘Disappearance’ of indigenous community sheds light on Yanomami gold mining drama

After accusing trespassing gold miners of raping and murdering a young indigenous girl, entire Yanomami village 'disappears' and causes commotion. Encroachment of illegal gold mining is an existential threat to indigenous groups

1 week ago • Euan Marshall
protest jacarezinho police
Society

A year after Rio’s “most lethal police raid,” mothers still ask for justice

Residents of Jacarezinho say little has changed since a May 2021 drug bust left 28 dead. Police abuse remains commonplace

2 weeks ago • Natália Scarabotto
Haitian man prison translation
Society

Haitian man spent 16 months in a Brazilian prison, waiting to be understood

Haitians make up the second-largest refugee group in Brazil — and the predominance of their Creole language has led to some worrying cases of language barriers

1 month ago • Amanda Audi
emergency President Jair Bolsonaro thinks the pandemic is over. Photo: Marcos Corrêa/PR
Society

Brazil to declare the end of the pandemic. What next?

Just months before the presidential election, the Brazilian government is formally claiming victory over the coronavirus. But experts warn that celebrations may be premature

1 month ago • Amanda Audi
Bolsonaro's carbon market regulations are only for show
Environment

Bolsonaro’s carbon market regulations are only for show

A presidential decree fails to establish mandatory goals for carbon emission cuts and could create legal uncertainty around the issue, endangering the environment

1 hour ago • Gustavo Ribeiro and Amanda Audi
mining View of Belo Horizonte from the Serra do Curral. Photo: Luis War/Shutterstock
Environment

New mining project in Minas Gerais sparks criticisms, concerns

A new mining complex in the Serra do Curral mountain range has been given the green light by state authorities, but environmentalists and local politicians are pushing back

1 week ago • Ana Ferraz
environmental fines ibama
Environment

Tens of thousands of environmental fines set to expire in Brazil

Data from protection agencies shows that the government would need ten times more workers to properly enforce environmental controls

2 weeks ago • Guilherme Mendes
amazon conflicts brazil
Environment

‘War’ is coming to parts of the Amazon

Brazil's inability to rein in Amazon deforestation has led to a scenario of widespread lawlessness, conflict, and pessimism about the forest's future

3 weeks ago • Guilherme Mendes
Brazil has the potential to go beyond forest restoration targets Nursery with seedlings for reforestation, in Rosario do Limeira. Photo: Alf Ribeiro/Shutterstock
Environment

Brazil has the potential to go beyond forest restoration targets

Researchers and private firms are analyzing the best ways to protest and restore Brazil's deforested biomes. Scientists say focusing on secondary vegetation is key

1 month ago • Constance Malleret
Supporters of left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, during a rally in Soacha. Photo: Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda/EFE via Folhapress
Latin America

Petro’s economic agenda is ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious

Big tax and spending hikes, a pension reform, and a ban on oil exploration are the highlights of campaign promises proposed by Gustavo Petro, Colombia's presidential frontrunner

5 hours ago • Ignacio Portes
Escazú Costa Rica Chaves
Latin America

Chaves marks a shift in Costa Rica’s environmental leadership

The new president of Costa Rica said he will not ratify the Escazú Agreement, in a sharp departure from the country’s active pursuit of sustainability

1 day ago • Lucas Berti
Pablo Neruda house Sebastiana in Valparaiso, Chile. Photo: Sun Shine/Shutterstock
Latin America

The memory of Pablo Neruda in jeopardy in Chile

Museums celebrating the Nobel Prize-winning poet have suffered from the impact of Covid. But as pandemic restrictions ease, help could come from the country’s new left-wing government

5 days ago • Lucas Berti
biden summit of the americas
Latin America

Boycotts and counter-boycotts threaten Biden’s Summit of the Americas

Top continental leaders say they are considering not attending after U.S. warns Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua might not be invited

1 week ago • Ignacio Portes
President Xiomara Castro of Honduras. Photo: Gustavo Amador/EFE via Folhapress
Latin America

Xiomara Castro faces uphill battle in Honduras women’s rights charge

The first woman president in the country's history, Xiomara Castro has promised to fight for women's and LGBTQIA+ rights by overturning sexist legislation amid a never-ending cycle of violence

1 week ago • Lucas Berti
cia During a recent rally, Jair Bolsonaro defends "Brazil without abortions." Photo: Alan Santos/PR
Opinion

The U.S. has no interest in Bolsonaro questioning the elections

The CIA director has called on Brazilian officials to quit questioning the country’s upcoming elections. This shows that any attempts by President Bolsonaro to challenge the election results would face international pushback

1 week ago • Andre Pagliarini
Ethanol plant in Campo Florido, Minas Gerais. Photo: T photography/Shutterstock
Opinion

U.S. case helps contextualize Brazil’s ethanol policy scenario

Unlike corn-based ethanol in the U.S., Brazil's sugarcane ethanol industry was battered by the Covid pandemic. The future of the country's policies could be a key diplomatic issue going forward

2 weeks ago • Peter Sufrin
daniel silveira institutions
Opinion

Are Brazilian institutions working? Well, it’s complicated

President Jair Bolsonaro has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable in Brazilian politics. Some institutions are doing their best to provide him with some checks and balances, but that doesn't seem to be enough

3 weeks ago • Fernando Bizzarro
bolsonaro Demonstration in São Paulo in favor of the arrest of former President Lula, in April 2019. Photo: Jardiel Carvalho/Folhapress
Opinion

Lula and Bolsonaro are not the same when it comes to democracy

Many have tried to portray Lula and Jair Bolsonaro as two sides of the same coin. But Lula has a track record of respecting democracy — which the current president lacks

3 weeks ago • Beatriz Rey and Gustavo Ribeiro
Real Currency dollar
Opinion

Brazilian Real getting less weak, but it’s not strong yet

Brazil's currency has gained ground against the dollar thanks to a series of economic factors, but expect more volatility from here on out

4 weeks ago • Luciano Sobral
travel industry
Tourism

War in Ukraine slowing down long-awaited recovery of Brazil’s travel industry

High oil prices, a still-unfavorable exchange rate, and inflation that bites into consumers’ discretionary spending mean the sector still faces a hard post-Covid road ahead

2 months ago • Ana Ferraz
gay tourism Farme de Amoedo Street, in Ipanema. Photo: Lazyllama/Shutterstock
Tourism

Brazil is an emerging gay tourism hotspot, but the government doesn’t want to know

Actions to promote gay tourism in the country have been actively ignored since Jair Bolsonaro came to power, despite Brazil having some of the world's best LGBTQ+-friendly spots

3 months ago • Amanda Audi
Marshal looking for survivors in Petrópolis
Tourism

Petrópolis disaster leaves a scar on Brazil’s historical landmarks

With hundreds dead and much physical destruction, evidence emerges of authorities’ negligence in preparing prevention and mitigation strategies

3 months ago • Renato Alves and Ana Ferraz
tourism canyon The Lake of Furnas, in Capitólio, Minas Gerais. Photo: Ricardo Benichio/Folhapress
Tourism

Idyllic canyon region tries to keep tourism alive after deadly disaster

A deadly cliff collapse in Capitólio has left tourists scared to return, and locals afraid they will lose their revenue

3 months ago • Renato Alves
flights brazil omicron
Tourism

While Brazil dithers on vaccine requirements, flights keep arriving

The government has clashed against regulators over vaccine mandates. Meanwhile, dozens of flights arrived in Brazil from Omicron hotbeds

5 months ago • Janaína Camelo
visa remote work
Guide to Brazil

Brazil creates a visa for foreign “digital nomads”

The country follows in the footsteps of dozens of nations around the world, offering temporary residence to people working remotely for foreign countries. Justice Ministry officials say it will attract foreign capital and boost tourism

4 months ago • Iure Pontes Vieira
october 12 People light candles to celebrate the day of Our Lady of Aparecida. Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2016. Photo: Nelson Antoine/Shutterstock
Guide to Brazil

October 12: a celebration of Brazil’s patron saint

According to legend, fishermen were inundated with fish to catch soon after finding an image of a black Virgin Mary. Since then, Our Lady of Aparecida has become Brazil's most popular and important saints

7 months ago • Euan Marshall
Rio's Christ the Redeemer. Photo: Ricardo Cohen/Shutterstock
Guide to Brazil

The story of Christ the Redeemer, 90 years old

Brazil's most popular tourist attraction, the story of how Christ the Redeemer came about is a fascinating one. This week's Rio celebrates the statue's 90th anniversary

7 months ago • Renato Alves
brazilian inquisition
Guide to Brazil

The lesser-known story of the Brazilian Inquisition

After terrorizing much of Spain and Portugal, the inquisition spread to many of these countries' colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas — including to Brazil

8 months ago • Renato Alves
Paulo Mendes da rocha
Guide to Brazil

Paulo Mendes da Rocha leaves behind incomparable legacy in Brazilian architecture

Among the most influential modernists in Brazilian history, Paulo Mendes da Rocha designed many of São Paulo's most famous tourist attractions and left a legacy of devoted followers

12 months ago • Renato Alves

9 good reasons to subscribe. Check our plans.