Hello! You are reading The Brazilian Report‘s Weekly Report. In this issue: How Brazil’s inequality has grown in recent years. Latin American currencies losing ground against the U.S. Dollar. How Brazilian markets performed. And the most important facts of the week. Enjoy your read! (This newsletter is for platinum and gold subscribers only. Become one now!)
The week in review
Amazon. Norway has decided to freeze BRL 133m from funds it invests in financing projects to curb deforestation in the rainforest. The Nordic country follows Germany, which also stopped sending money to the Amazon Fund—created in 2008. Together, the two countries account for 90% of the fund’s resources. In response, President Jair Bolsonaro chose sarcasm: “Norway, you mean [the country] that kills whales and drills oil in the North Pole?”
Shutdown? Upon taking office, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes promised to end Brazil’s public deficit within one year. Eight months later, reality is quite different. The federal government is undergoing an unprecedented process of budget cuts—and the risk of a partial shutdown is looming. Research scholarships have been slashed, and even passport issuance could be affected within weeks. To make matters worse, indicators show that Brazil is dangerously close to entering...