Brazil Elections

Exclusive: Senior aide to Brazil farm minister targeted by graft probe
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The Agriculture Ministry headquarters building is seen in Brasilia, Brazil July 12, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

SAO PAULO - A senior adviser to Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias is being investigated over his management of a public contract five years ago, according to two people familiar with the matter and documents from an internal ministry probe seen by Reuters.

According to the documents and the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Special Adviser Francisco Basílio Freitas de Souza is under investigation for bid-rigging and misspending of public funds.

The confidential probe has triggered a criminal investigation, according to prosecutors. The probe comes as the ministry tries to turn the page on bribery scandals, with new President Jair Bolsonaro vowing zero tolerance for graft.

Souza, an official at government agriculture research agency Embrapa since 1976, was in charge of coordinating a project which involved awarding a contract in 2014 to an IT firm to revamp procedures for the quality control of agricultural goods at the ministry.

In October 2018, the ministry’s internal auditors opened a formal investigation into the winning IT firm’s contract and alerted police and prosecutors to the probe, the documents show.

In December 2018, Souza was let go from the project, the government’s official gazette said at the time, without giving a reason.

That same month, he joined the transition team for the incoming Bolsonaro government and a month later the president’s Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni named him as special adviser to the minister.

Lorenzoni’s press office declined to say if he knew of the probe at the time of Souza’s appointment.

The Agriculture Ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday, “There is no legal impediment to a civil servant targeted in an administrative probe from taking a politically appointed role.”

It declined to make Dias or Souza available for comment and said it was cooperating with authorities investigating the contract, which involved more than one civil servant. It also declined to disclose details of the internal investigation, adding that the “reasonable” duration of such proceedings was 140 days.

Federal prosecutors had asked police to start an investigation into the awarding of the contract, a media representative for the prosecutors said, declining to provide details. Federal police did not respond to a request for comment.

Dias is aware of the ongoing investigation, according to the two people familiar with the matter. There is no indication that she is implicated in any wrongdoing.

Souza’s public agenda shows he is one of the minister’s busiest aides, joining her frequently on domestic and foreign trips, and representing the ministry in meetings with the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

MEATPACKER SCANDAL
The Agriculture Ministry is still recovering from a 2017 scandal that saw police present evidence of a bribery scheme in which officials helped meatpackers to cheat on sanitary inspections.

The scandal led major foreign markets to ban meat imports from Brazil.

In the internal probe involving Souza, which is not related to the inspections scandal, investigators found evidence he may have broken bidding rules when the government signed a contract without a competing bidder, overpaying by at least 4 million reais ($1.1 million), according to the ministry documents.

Magna Sistemas Consultoria SA, the IT firm that won the contract to bolster the Agriculture Ministry’s international oversight and foodstuff quality control protocols, has also worked for state oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA and other ministries.

Magna said in a statement it won the project legally and fulfilled all its obligations through the end of the contract last year. It said the ministry had not formally inquired about the bidding process until April 2019.

The firm said it did not have knowledge of any investigation ordered by the federal prosecutors.

Last year, Souza was tapped to become vice president for agriculture at state lender Banco do Brasil SA, local media have reported. Newspaper Valor Economico reported in January that he lost out on the job after failing a background check.

Banco do Brasil said in a statement that its eligibility committee had not evaluated Souza. He declined to go ahead with the process after receiving paperwork for the background check, according to a person familiar with the matter.
 
Brazil's Bolsonaro says government must cut another 2.5 billion reais
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends a ceremony of the hoisting the national flag in front the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that Brazil's federal government will need to cut its budget by 2.5 billion reais ($667 million) next week, website UOL reported, as weak economic growth continues to squeeze revenue.

Brazil alerted companies about U.S. embargo on Iran: Bolsonaro
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during a National Soccer Day Cerenomy in Brasilia, Brazil July 19, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

The Brazilian government has been alerting local companies about the extent of sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran and the possible consequences in case of noncompliance, President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday.

Bolsonaro accuses state agency of lying on Brazil deforestation
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday accused the state body responsible for tracking deforestation levels of disclosing false data,
after preliminary numbers showed a dramatic rise in July.

Brazil's Bolsonaro plans to tap his son as envoy to U.S. even if it hurts his popularity
FILE PHOTO: Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, arrives for the showing of a documentary on the government of Jair Bolsonaro in Washington, U.S.,  March 16, 2019.      REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated on Thursday that he intends to nominate his son Eduardo to be ambassador to the United States, even if it damages his popularity.
 
Hacking of Brazil economy minister's cellphone being investigated
FILE PHOTO - Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes is seen before a ceremony of the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) Line of Credit for Philanthropic Organizations at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

FILE PHOTO - Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes is seen before a ceremony of the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) Line of Credit for Philanthropic Organizations at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BRASILIA July 23, 2019 - Brazil’s economy ministry is urging Justice Minister Sergio Moro to consider opening a criminal investigation into the possible hacking of Economy Minister Paulo Guedes’s cellphone,

“The Economy Ministry can confirm that the possible hacking of Minister Paulo Guedes’s phone is being investigated. A letter will be sent to the Justice Minister Sergio Moro, to call the Federal Police,” the statement to journalists read.

The statement said several journalists received messages and calls on Monday, seemingly from Guedes via the ‘Telegram’ app, but stressed Guedes has never had a Telegram account. His former cellphone number has now been deactivated, it said.

Guedes is the latest high-ranking government official to be targeted in this way.

Last month, Moro himself faced intense pressure to resign after leaked personal messages raised doubts about his impartiality as the judge that oversaw landmark corruption cases, most notably the so-called ‘Car Wash’ probe.

On Sunday, the government’s leader in Congress Joice Hasselmann said in a post on Twitter that her phone had been hacked and ‘cloned,’ and that the police had been alerted.

Federal prosecutors also recently suffered cyber attacks, including Deltan Dallagnol, coordinator of the Car Wash case that has led to the imprisonment of scores of politicians and businessman in Brazil, including former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Brazil's Bolsonaro says government may cut worker protections to boost job creation
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during a National Soccer Day Cerenomy in Brasilia, Brazil July 19, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during a National Soccer Day Cerenomy in Brasilia, Brazil July 19, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BRASILIA July 23, 2019 - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Sunday that the government may look at making it less expensive for employers to fire workers, as it seeks fresh ways to stimulate a weak economy.

Employers in Brazil contribute to a fund called FGTS, which employees can draw from in certain circumstances such as buying a home, loss of employment or serious health problems.

Currently, if an employer fires a worker without just cause, they are liable to pay the individual up to 40% of the total contributions made by the company for that worker to date. Additionally, since 2001 employers must also pay a further 10% levy to the government.

“Look, the value (of the FGTS fine) is not in the Constitution,” Bolsonaro told reporters. “What I’m trying to offer the worker is this: fewer rights and jobs, or all their rights and unemployment.”

Brazil’s economy is struggling to emerge from a crippling recession and Bolsonaro’s government is focused on passing through Congress a pension overhaul that it has said will prop up public finances and kickstart growth.

Last week, Bolsonaro said the FGTS fine was designed to prevent firms from firing workers, but argued it had instead made them unwilling to hire.

On Saturday, Bolsonaro said Brazil’s federal government would need to cut its budget by 2.5 billion reais ($667 million) as weak economic growth continues to squeeze revenue.

The government is imminently due to announce details on the release of cash from the FGTS funds and a workers’ social contribution fund known as PIS/Pasep. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said last week that 42 billion reais would be freed up from FGTS funds and 21 billion reais from the PIS/Pasep funds, newspaper Valor Economico reported last week.
 
Brazil President Bolsonaro's cellphones targeted by hackers: Justice Ministry
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a ceremony to launch the new worker fund stimulus at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 24, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a ceremony to launch the new worker fund stimulus at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 24, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BRASÍLIA July 25, 2019 - Cellphones used by President Jair Bolsonaro were a target of cyber attacks, the Brazilian Justice Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, after being briefed about the incident by the federal police “as a matter of national security.”

Bolsonaro is the latest high-ranking government official to be targeted by cyber attacks. The ministry claimed the attack came from people arrested last Tuesday in connection with a probe into a group of people accused of hacking other government authorities.

Brazil court orders Petrobras to refuel Iran grain vessels
Brazil's top court on Thursday ordered state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA to refuel two Iranian grain vessels stranded on the Brazilian coast due to U.S. sanctions holding up sales of fuel needed for their return trips.
 
Reuters is featuring this story and it's making the usual rounds (Reuters outlets) BUT - it sounds very much - on the order of a report from Zerohedge back in April 2017? So far - NO legitimate confirmation? It might be FAKE news?

Armed men steal $40 million of gold, metals from Brazil airport
Also here: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-07-25/armed-men-steal-40-million-of-gold-metals-from-brazil-airport

SAO PAULO July 25, 2019 - Armed men stole $40 million of gold and other precious metals on Thursday from a Sao Paulo cargo terminal at South America’s busiest airport, taking two hostages, police said.

Several of the suspects arrived at the Guarulhos airport in a black pickup truck with livery resembling Brazil’s federal police, according to security footage seen by Reuters. Four men left the vehicle with their faces covered, at least one of whom had a rifle, and confronted workers at the airport, who then proceeded to fill up the pickup truck with cargo.

A police report said the thieves left with about 750 kg (1,650 lbs) of gold and other precious metals, along with two airport workers taken as hostages, and remained at large.

An airport spokeswoman said no one was hurt during the assault, but did not comment on potential hostages.

The airport is operated by GRU Airport, a consortium that includes Invepar, Airports Company South Africa, and state airport operator Infraero.

~~~

In "Spectacular Heist" Dozens Of Heavily-Armed Robbers Steal $40 Million From Paraguay Vault
by Tyler Durden Mon, 04/24/2017
 
Reuters is featuring this story and it's making the usual rounds (Reuters outlets) BUT - it sounds very much - on the order of a report from Zerohedge back in April 2017? So far - NO legitimate confirmation? It might be FAKE news?

Armed men steal $40 million of gold, metals from Brazil airport
Also here: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-07-25/armed-men-steal-40-million-of-gold-metals-from-brazil-airport

Reuters, is again, featuring this same article but has added a short video. With a report "this big" I would think - more news outlets (not connected to Reuters) would be making news headlines and adding details? Reuters has not labeled this report as "Exclusive" so there should be reports coming out from Brazilian news outlets? I'm not coming across anything - on my end?

Armed men steal $40 million of gold, metals from Brazil airport
 
Reuters is featuring another report on this suppose Gold robbery? I don't know what to make of it? My feeling - is that this story is bogus?
I'm unable to locate an independent source - outside of Reuters?


Brazil police say one arrested in $29 million gold robbery case
FILE PHOTO: A cameraman records pickup trucks with livery resembling Brazil's federal police inside the DEIC (State Criminal Investigation Department), which were used by thieves during the theft at Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 25, 2019. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

FILE PHOTO: A cameraman records pickup trucks with livery resembling Brazil's federal police inside the DEIC (State Criminal Investigation Department), which were used by thieves during the theft at Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 25, 2019. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Brazilian police said on Sunday they arrested one person and are seeking an arrest warrant for another in connection with the theft of a gold shipment at São Paulo’s international airport on July 25.

The authorities did not name any of the suspects in the theft, which involved 718.9 kilos of gold worth an estimated $29 million from the cargo terminal of Guarulhos international airport.

Security firm Brink’s Co, which was responsible for delivering the gold to the airport, said in a statement last week that it had completed the delivery and the airlines had full custody of the shipment at the time of the robbery.

Police originally believed the theft involved 750 kg of gold and other precious metals, worth $40 million.
 
Death toll in Brazil prison massacre rises to 57 with over a dozen decapitated
Police patrol in front of a prison after a riot, in the city of Altamira, Brazil, July 29, 2019. REUTERS/Bruno Santos

Police patrol in front of a prison after a riot, in the city of Altamira, Brazil, July 29, 2019. REUTERS/Bruno Santos

SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO July 29, 2019 - A bloody clash between two prison gangs on Monday left at least 57 inmates dead with 16 of them decapitated, authorities in the state of Para said, the latest deadly clash as Brazil’s government struggles to control the country’s overcrowded jails.

State authorities said the riot began around 7 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) at a prison in the northern city of Altamira, and involved rival gangs.

Prisoners belonging to the Comando Classe A gang set fire to a cell containing inmates from the rival Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, gang, Para’s state government said in a statement.

Most of the dead died in the fire, they said, while two guards were taken hostage, but later released.

“It was a targeted act,” state prison director Jarbas Vasconcelos said in the statement, adding there was no prior intelligence that suggested an attack would take place.

“The aim was to show that it was a settling of accounts between the two gangs.”

Elected on a tough-on-crime message, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has benefited from a sharp drop in homicides so far this year. Nonetheless, endemic prison violence has been a stubborn public security challenge in one of the world’s most violent countries.

In May, at least 55 inmates died during prison attacks in the northern state of Amazonas. Weeks of violence in Amazonas in 2017 resulted in 150 prison deaths as local gangs backed by Brazil’s two largest drug factions went to war.

Brazil’s justice ministry said in a statement that it was working with Para authorities to identify those behind the latest attack, adding it had opened some space in the federal prison system where those gang leaders would be transferred.

Brazil’s incarcerated population has surged eight-fold in three decades to around 750,000 inmates, the world’s third-highest tally. Prison gangs originally formed to protect inmates and advocate for better conditions, but have come to wield vast power that reaches far beyond prison walls.

The gangs have been linked to bank heists, drug trafficking and gun-running, with jailed kingpins presiding over criminal empires via smuggled cellphones.

In the country’s violent northeast, prison gangs have grown powerful by moving cocaine from Colombia and Peru along the Amazon’s waterways to the Atlantic coast, where it heads to Africa and Europe. Murderous disputes often arise as they clash over territorial control.

The Red Command hails from Rio de Janeiro, but has expanded deep into northern Brazil as it seeks to diversify its income. That expansion has often led to confrontations with Brazil’s largest and most powerful gang, the First Capital Command, headquartered in Sao Paulo.

The Comando Classe A gang is seen as a relatively small gang, and is little known outside Para. Its high-profile attack against the Red Command could give it a nationwide reputation.

Bolsonaro’s government has proposed moving powerful incarcerated drug lords to federal lockups, and building more prisons at the state level. But with the vast majority of prisons run by Brazil’s overstretched state governments, Bolsonaro is likely limited in terms of what he can achieve from Brasilia.

In February, Justice Minister Sergio Moro unveiled his signature crime-fighting bill, including proposals to toughen prison sentences and isolate gang leaders in maximum-security lockups.

That bill has since struggled in Congress, with the government giving its pension reform legislation priority.

Brazil's Bolsonaro says no evidence indigenous leader murdered
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a ceremony to launch the new worker fund stimulus at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 24, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday said there was no evidence an indigenous chief, whose death was decried by the U.N. commissioner for human rights, was killed by wildcat miners said to have invaded protected tribal lands.

The far-right Bolsonaro has repeatedly criticized the existence of protected lands, saying there are too many of them and that they prevent Brazil from profiting from its natural resources.

Emyra Wajapi, a leader of the Wajapi tribe who lives on a reservation near Brazil’s northwestern border with French Guiana, was found dead last week.

The state indigenous affairs agency Funai, headed by a Bolsonaro appointee, said on Monday the most recent police report on Wajapi’s death showed no evidence of the “presence of an armed group” on the reservation at the time.

But an internal memo from Funai’s office in Amapá state seen by Reuters said 10 to 15 armed men had invaded Wajapi land and occupied a village last week. The memo sent on Saturday evening said it was not clear yet how Wajapi died.

Brazil’s federal police are investigating the death and allegations by tribe members that their lands were invaded by wildcat miners.

“There is no solid evidence as of now that that Indian was murdered,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Brasilia.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, called for an investigation, describing Wajapi’s death “a disturbing symptom of the growing problem of encroachment on indigenous land – especially forests – by miners, loggers and farmers in Brazil.”

In a statement, Bachelet also urged Bolsonaro to reconsider his government's proposal to open up more of the Amazon rainforest area to mining. Under Bolsonaro, deforestation of the Amazon has accelerated here, according to a state-run agency.

Bolsonaro has called the deforestation numbers false. here

“Brazil lives from commodities,” Bolsonaro said on Monday. “What do we have here in addition to commodities? Do people not remember this? If the [commodities] business fails, it will be a disaster.”

Bolsonaro said he was planning to regulate and legalize wildcat miners, who critics say heavily pollute rivers and clear forests in their search for gold and other minerals. Bolsonaro said he wanted regulations to allow indigenous people to mine their reservations.


The Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) rights group called on Bolsonaro to defend the constitutional rights of Brazil’s native people to their tribal lands.

“Aggressive hate speeches by Bolsonaro and members of his government are encouraging the invasion and pillage of land and violence against indigenous peoples,” CIMI said in a statement.

U.N. rights boss urges Brazil to preserve Amazon from mining
FILE PHOTO: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet holds a news conference at Centro Cultural Espana in downtown Mexico City, Mexico April 9, 2019 REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

U.N. human rights chief Michele Bachelet called on Monday for an investigation into the murder of an indigenous leader in Brazil last week and urged the Bolsonaro government to reconsider its proposal to open up more of the Amazon area to mining.

Paraguay foreign minister resigns after Brazil energy deal outcry
FILE PHOTO: Paraguay's Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Castiglioni addresses the media in Asuncion, Paraguay July 28, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno

Paraguay's foreign minister and three other officials resigned on Monday amid a growing scandal over the signing of an energy deal with Brazil, a blow to President Mario Abdo who has forged close ties with Brazil, South America's No. 1 economy.
 
Brazil feels pressure over Amazon deforestation data
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro reacts during a news conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that if a senior government scientist had betrayed his confidence regarding deforestation data, he would be fired, underlining how growing international pressure to protect the Amazon is weighing on his government.

Brazil space research chief to leave job after Bolsonaro deforestation spat
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a deforested plot of the Amazon at the Bom Futuro National Forest in Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, September 3, 2015. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo/File Photo

The head of Brazil's space research agency INPE, Ricardo Galvao, is set to leave his job following a public dispute with President Jair Bolsonaro over deforestation statistics, a spokesperson for the science ministry said on Friday.

Preliminary data produced by INPE showed an 88% jump in deforestation in June in the Amazon rainforest compared to the same month a year ago. Data for July 1 to July 25, the latest available, recorded 1,864 square kilometers of deforestation, more than triple the amount in the month of July last year.

Bolsonaro responded angrily to the numbers, describing them last month as a lie, and personally attacking Galvao, who he said might be “in service to some NGO.”

On Thursday, he said Galvao would be fired if he was found to have breached his confidence.

Galvao did not take the criticism lying down. In an interview on July 20 with national broadcaster Globo, he dismissed Bolsonaro’s criticism as “bar talk” and “a joke of a 14-year-old boy that is not suitable for a president of Brazil.” At the time, Galvao said he would not resign.

However, on Friday, Galvao told reporters as he left a meeting with the science minister that his position was no longer tenable, according to a recording broadcast on CBN. “I will be dismissed,” he said.

A science ministry spokesperson said it was unclear if Galvao had resigned or been fired. A representative for INPE declined to comment.

On Thursday, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles told reporters during a briefing alongside Bolsonaro that the preliminary data produced by the system, known as DETER, contained errors. Some of the deforestation picked up in June had actually occurred earlier, and certain areas had been counted twice, he said.

The 88% increase reported was a distortion of the data, he said, but offered no alternative figures.

INPE released a statement on the same day, saying it was confident in the quality of DETER data.
 
Brazil judge clears ex-president Lula's move to Sao Paulo jail
Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, leaves for the cemetery to attend the funeral of his 7-year-old grandson, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil March 2, 2019. Ricardo Stuckert Filho/ Lula Institute/Handout via REUTERS

A federal judge in Brazil on Wednesday authorized the transfer of imprisoned former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from the southern city of Curitiba to a jail in the state of Sao Paulo.

The former president is being held in a jail within a federal police station. However, police complained in a motion seen by Reuters that overseeing Lula’s imprisonment was diverting significant time and resources, as well as inconveniencing city residents.

A separate judge in Sao Paulo state determined later on Wednesday that Lula would serve the remainder of his sentence at a prison in the town of Tremembe, near the city of Sao Jose dos Campos.
 

Brazil top court suspends ex-president Lula's move to Sao Paulo jail
BRASILIA - Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended a lower court decision to transfer imprisoned former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from the southern city of Curitiba to a penitentiary in the state of Sao Paulo.

The former president is being held in a cell within the federal police headquarters in Curitiba. However, police complained in a motion that overseeing Lula’s imprisonment was diverting significant time and resources, as well as inconveniencing city residents.

A federal judge authorized his transfer and a separate judge in Sao Paulo state decided later that Lula would serve the remainder of his sentence at a penitentiary in the town of Tremembé, 170 kilometers (105 miles) from Sao Paulo.

A majority of justices on the Supreme Court, however, overruled the transfer and decided Lula should stay in Curitiba, as requested by his lawyers.

Brazil lower house approves pension overhaul in second round, eyes passage by Senate
Brazil's Lower House President Rodrigo Maia attends a session to vote the pension reform bill at plenary of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, Brazil August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Brazil's lower house of Congress early on Wednesday approved the text of a far-reaching pension reform bill in a second round of voting, and eyed finalizing all deliberations on the bill by the end of the day, as the central economic reform of President Jair Bolsonaro's administration steadily advances.
 
Brazil's Bolsonaro calls convicted torturer a 'national hero'
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a review and modernization ceremony of occupational health and safety work at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BRASILIA August 8, 2019 - Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that an Army officer who was convicted of torture during Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship was a “national hero.”

Colonel Carlos Alberto Ustra, who died in 2015, headed the Army’s notorious DOI-CODI intelligence unit that was responsible for repressing leftist political opponents. During his 2008 trial, witnesses said he personally oversaw torture sessions.

Brazil’s National Truth Commision recorded 45 deaths or disappearances during Ustra’s four years running the unit, as well as 502 cases of torture. “He is a national hero who prevented Brazil falling into what the left wants today,” Bolsonaro told reporters before meeting with Ustra’s widow.

A former Army captain who came of age under the dictatorship, Bolsonaro has defended the legacy of the military government and has included several retired generals in his cabinet since taking office in January.

In 2016, he eulogized Ustra as he cast his vote to impeach former leftist President Dilma Rousseff, who was jailed and tortured during the dictatorship.

Last week, Bolsonaro replaced four of the seven members of a commission responsible for investigating disappeared victims of the dictatorship’s “dirty war” against left-wing militants. In their place he appointed military officers and members of right-wing parties.

Asked why, he replied to reporters: “There is a new president; now it is Jair Bolsonaro. Full stop.”

Brazil pension reform debate expected to widen in Senate
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes looks on after a meeting with Brazil's Lower House President Rodrigo Maia and Brazil's President of the Senate Davi Alcolumbre (not pictured) in Brasilia, Brazil August 5, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

Brazil's Senate is expected to consider extending pension reform to states and municipal governments as it moves to vote on a bill overhauling the social security system, lawmakers said on Thursday.

Brazil does not expect boycott due to deforestation: spokesman
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a deforested plot of the Amazon at the Bom Futuro National Forest in Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, September 3, 2015. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo

Brazil's government does not expect an international boycott of Brazilian products due to increasing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest basin, presidential spokesman General Otavio Rego Barros said on Wednesday.

Brazilian police again arrest Eike Batista, once Brazil's richest man
Former billionaire Eike Batista arrives at the Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazil, August 8, 2019. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

Police in Brazil on Thursday arrested Eike Batista, the charismatic mining and oil magnate who was once the country's richest man, on suspicion of money laundering and insider trading.
 
Brazil prosecutors seek to bar Bolsonaro's son as envoy to U.S.
Brazilian Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of president Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a board meeting of Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

Brazilian federal prosecutors filed a court injunction on Monday seeking to bar the appointment of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's son Eduardo as ambassador to the United States due to his lack of experience as a diplomat.

Brazilian anti-corruption crusader backs Bolsonaro 2022 re-election
Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro talks during an interview with Reuters in Brasilia, Brazil August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Andre Coelho

Brazilian Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who oversaw Brazil's biggest corruption probe as a federal judge, said on Monday he has no interest in elected office and that President Jair Bolsonaro is his candidate for the 2022 election.

Brazil's Bolsonaro warns of Argentine refugee crisis if Macri loses
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during a promotion ceremony for generals of the armed forces, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro warned on Monday that his country could see a wave of migrants fleeing Argentina if a presidential election there returns leftist politicians to power, after their strong showing in a Sunday primary vote.

Argentina's Macri vows to reverse primary election result, win second term
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during a news conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Argentine President Mauricio Macri said on Monday his coalition will "reverse the bad primary election result of yesterday" and vowed to win re-election following an upset by the main opposition candidate in Sunday's primary election.

Macri vows to win second term after Argentine peso crashes on primary results
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during a news conference after the presidential primaries, in Buenos Aires, Argentina August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
Argentine President Mauricio Macri vowed on Monday to win a second term despite a surprisingly strong performance by the opposition in the primary election that set off a shockwave through markets, crashing the peso currency and sending stocks and bonds tumbling.

Argentina five-year CDS jumps almost 1,000 bps after primary election outcome
The cost of insuring exposure to Argentina's sovereign debt surged by 938 basis points on Monday as investors worried about a return to interventionist economics following a defeat for President Mauricio Macri in the weekend's primary election.

Argentine central bank uses $50 million in reserves to defend the peso
FILE PHOTO: A man shows Argentine pesos outside a bank in Buenos Aires' financial district, Argentina August 30, 2018.  REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

Argentina's central bank used $50 million in its own reserves, for the first time since September last year, to intervene in the foreign exchange market and defend the peso in the face of a massive sell-off, traders said.

Factbox: Argentina's Fernandez could review IMF deal, impose capital controls
FILE PHOTO: Presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez speaks during the primary elections, at a cultural centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 11, 2019.  REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
A resounding victory by Argentina's center-left opposition leader Alberto Fernández in Sunday's primary election alarmed investors with the prospect he could roll back President Mauricio Macri's business friendly agenda if he wins October's presidential vote.
 
Brazilian police sniper kills Rio bus hijacker; no hostages hurt
A police officer is seen on the Rio-Niteroi Bridge, where security forces shot dead a man who hijacked a commuter bus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 20, 2019. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

August 20, 2019 - RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian security forces in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday shot dead a man who hijacked a bus on a bridge across Guanabara Bay and took 37 people hostage, in a dramatic end to an incident that underlined the city’s daily grind of violence.

The hijacking began around 5 a.m. local time when a masked man commandeered a commuter bus on the bridge connecting Rio with the city of Niteroi. The man took 37 people in the bus hostage before freeing six of them, officials said.

About four hours later, the hostage-taker walked out of the bus, flung a backpack toward police and then fell to the ground as he tried to reenter the vehicle, TV images showed. Police officials said he was shot by a police sniper. They did not provide other details on the hostage-taker.

All hostages emerged from the bus unharmed.

“Congratulations to the Rio de Janeiro police for the successful action that ended the bus hijacking on the Rio-Niteroi bridge this morning,” President Jair Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter. “The criminal was neutralized and no hostage was injured. Today, no family-member of an innocent person will be in tears.”

Bolsonaro, a far-right former federal congressman who represented the state of Rio de Janeiro for nearly three decades, has long advocated that police take a tougher line in the face of years of rising crime. In 2015, he said Brazil’s military police should “kill more people.” Since taking office in January, he has sought to broaden access to guns and pushed measures to protect police if they kill on the job.

Although the number of murders in Rio has fallen sharply in recent months, the city’s police have killed 15% more people so far this year compared to the same period in 2018. A total of 881 people, or nearly five per day, died at the hands of police between January and June, putting it on track to be the highest number since records began in 2003.

This week’s bus hijacking also highlighted a grim reality of life in Rio, where many use specialized apps to safely navigate their way past daily gun battles between police, drug gangs, and vigilante militias comprised of current and former cops.

Local media reported the unidentified hijacker was armed with a plastic gun but there was no official confirmation. Hans Moreno, a passenger on the bus, told Globo News the hijacker had a pistol and a knife, and never explained to passengers the reasons for his actions.

As the hijacking ended, Rio’s Governor Wilson Witzel arrived by helicopter and bounded across the bridge to hug police involved in killing the hijacker.

Witzel, a close ally of Bolsonaro who also took office in January, says police should kill anyone with a rifle, and has ordered snipers to fire on suspects from helicopters.

In an interview with journalists at the scene, Witzel celebrated the outcome but lamented the death of the hijacker.

“We don’t want anyone to die, but ... the police will act rigorously and will not be lenient with those who endanger other people’s lives,” he said, while also defending his previous arguments in favor of police shooting anyone with a rifle.

“Some people do not always understand that police work sometimes has to be this way. If they had not shot this criminal, many lives would not have been spared,” he said.

Slideshow (8 Images)
Brazilian police sniper kills Rio bus hijacker; no hostages hurt
 
Brazil's Bolsonaro says to fight Amazon fires, blames weather
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday he will deploy federal troops with appropriate equipment to fight the fires in the Amazon rainforest, blaming dryer-than-normal weather for the spike in fire outbreaks this year.

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FILE PHOTO: A tract of Amazon jungle is seen after a fire in Boca do Acre, Amazonas state, Brazil August 24, 2019. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File Photo

Six states in Brazil's Amazon region requested military help on Saturday to combat record fires that are tearing through the rainforest, provoking an international outcry because of the Amazon's central role in combating global warming.

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The European Union piled pressure on Friday on Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over fires raging in the Amazon basin, with Ireland and France saying they could block a trade deal with South America.

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Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil, Brazil August 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

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5 things the media won't tell you about the Amazon fires (Photos - graphs)
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...wont-tell-you-about-the-amazon-fires/70009150

8/23/2019 - This week, traditional and social media have gone crazy covering the fires in the Amazon (specifically Brazil), and the images and video like those we shared are compelling. But there's a lot of misinformation out there, and there is some good news: It may not be as bad as some in the media are reporting. This is serious stuff! We need to stick to the science. Here are five things that the media (which rarely gets it right on science) aren't telling you:

The Earth is burning, but it always has been.

Thousands of fires are continually burning across the Earth every day and every year, and they always have. They have
an animation of the last 20 years of this data. You won't see much of a change except that fires are worse in some areas and better in others from year to year. The map below shows September 2000 vs. 2018. They look about the same to me.

You can't actually "see" the fires or the damage they do, looking at the globe from space.
So why does it look like the whole Earth is on fire in the maps above? That's a great question, and it leads to exaggeration of the true size of what's burning. As I understand it, this data is actually composed of "warm pixels." This means the satellite has detected what it thinks could be a wildfire based on its temperature, and I assume, other algorithms. NASA warns on their website:

"Don't be fooled by sizes of some of the bright splotches on these maps. The colors represent a count of the number of fires observed within a 1,000-square-kilometer area."

This means you're not looking at actual fires, you're looking at pixels which represent the number of satellite-detected fires within 1,000 square-kilometers of a location, and that data can be represented with smaller pixels, but if you zoom out to show the whole Earth, as above, you wouldn't be able to see them. It's analogous to looking at a map of NWS Storm Spotters, where each car is the size of Rhode Island. When you zoom way out, it will look like cities are clogged with cars, but the reality is that a car is a lot smaller than Rhode Island, and when you get down to that level, they are very far apart.

Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia wildfire smoke visible from space
Smoke rising into the atmosphere this week from hundreds of wildfires burning across Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and other parts of South America was so heavy it was picked up in satellite imagery. (NASA)

In theory, you could see the wildfire "scars" on satellite, when zoomed into a local area, but even that is unlikely if it's a bunch of small fires in different places. You can, however, see the smoke from space, because it thins out and drifts into much larger areas than the fires themselves. But even here the media are often getting it wrong. I had to correct a major media distribution platform on Friday after its journalists were looking at thunderstorms overnight on a satellite image, and mistook the storms for wildfire smoke -- a mistake that was disseminated to countless other media outlets.

Detecting fires on satellite
Why should you trust me? Well, I'm not perfect, but I am a scientist and I've been working as a meteorologist, looking at these satellite images for nearly 25 years. The conclusions many in the media are jumping to are not fair to the science. This is why we need people to be more vigilant about bringing scientists in on the explanation of these events.

BTW: NASA also tweeted a good before-and-after of the smoke. See? It's the thin white stuff. (Tweet)

The Amazon region isn't even seeing above-normal fire activity this year.
Yes, there are a lot of fires in South America, some of them in the Amazon rain forests, but how unusual is that? Unfortunately, it's not unusual at all. The map below shows little change, and on Aug. 15, NASA wrote:

"As of August 16, 2019, satellite observations indicated that total fire activity in the Amazon basin was slightly below average in comparison to the past 15 years."

UPDATE: NASA changed the text from the quote above from "slightly below" to "close to the" without explanation. See bottom of blog.

Could NASA come out next week with a revised estimate and say that there is an increase? Sure. Something else to consider -- a lot of the land may have not even been rain forest, in recent years, or ever. Looking at the extreme closeup satellite image from Maxar below, it looks like what's burning was already agricultural fields; the large areas of forests are not ablaze, at least in this image. UPDATE: A New York Times reporter confirms "the majority of these fires were set by farmers preparing Amazon-adjacent farmland for next year’s crops and pasture." (If you don't have a NYT account, click here for quotes).

There's no proof that more of Brazil has burned than in past years.
Now we're getting to the crux of "what's different" about the fires this year. According to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, there have been about 76,000... well, they don't say what, but let's assume they are showing a count of wildfires, which is an 85% increase vs. 2018. But what does that really mean?

Counting fires doesn't really give you much data because we don't know what size they are. They all could be small fields, or they could be huge fires that are wiping out entire towns (like some of the big ones we've had in California recently). Without data on the area burned, it's not fair to make a comparison. The United States maintains statistics on fire sizes (and if you look you'll see the biggest year for acres burned is actually "below average"), but Brazil does not.

Wildfires aren't necessarily bad.
I know, this sounds like a cut and paste excuse from environmentalist haters, but it's true. Even Smokey the Bear admits: "Fire can also be an important part of maintaining diverse and healthy ecosystems. This can trigger a rebirth of forests, helping to maintain native plant species." That said, he still doesn't want you starting them, because they could hurt people or property.

By the same token, the media reports that many of the new fires in Brazil this year are human-started. Some are for agricultural purposes; some may be arson. The only proof offered by the media that the fires are arson was a video of an indigenous woman, but that turned out to be faked -- it was two months ago, over 1,800 miles away, not in the Amazon.

Am I saying we should be burning down the rain forest? No. It sounds like a bad idea that could have a big effect on the Earth. But I'm not an environmental or political expert -- I can only give you the numbers above, which I hope make you realize that this is not a new problem, and it may not even be one that's getting worse.

That's good news! If you feel passionate about burning less of the rain forest, don't let me make you less so, just go into it armed with facts and not misleading information.

UPDATE: Jon Passantino of @BuzzFeedStorm pointed out that my quote above from a NASA website was not what he was seeing on their page. It turns out they changed it. The Google Cache of their page, which contained my quote, has been changed from "slightly below average" to "close to average" with no explanation of that revision. It would be nice to know if the data has changed, or it was a mistake.

Their source remains the Global Fire Emissions Database. Their "Cumulative Fire Counts Totals" (for the Amazon) so far in 2019 is about in the middle of the graph as of yesterday (August 22). It's below 2016 and above 2017 and 2018.

However, there is no average given, so I can't say whether it's above or below average. The data goes back to 2003, which is not far enough to make any climate assumptions, but they note that the source of the data changed in 2016, so records before then may not be comparable.

In summary, other than changing their quote above, their revision does not reject any of the points that I've brought up.
 
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