Brazil Elections

A group of Brazilian anthropologists and environmentalists has put forward Chief Raoni Metuktire of the Kayapó tribe as a candidate for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for a lifetime of work protecting the Amazon rainforest.

Brazil's Amazon chief Raoni tapped for 2020 Nobel Peace Prize nomination
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's indigenous chief Raoni Metuktire attends a news conference in Bidart after the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 26, 2019.  REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's indigenous chief Raoni Metuktire attends a news conference in Bidart after the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 26, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

Raoni, an unmistakable Amazon icon with his large lip plate, yellow macaw-featured headdress and ear rings, became known internationally as an environmental campaigner in the 1980's with musician Sting at his side.

At 89, Raoni took to the road again this year seeking help to stop a surge in fires destroying the forest, which he has blamed on the plans of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro to develop the Amazon economically and assimilate its indigenous people.

The Darcy Ribeiro Foundation, named after one of Brazil’s first anthropologists, announced this week that it had formally proposed Raoni’s name to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who wins the annual award.

The foundation has also written to French President Emmanuel Macron to call for his endorsement of the nomination. Raoni met twice this year with Macron, who led criticism of Brazil’s environmental practices at the recent Group of Seven wealthy nations summit in Biarritz.

A spokesman for the foundation, Toni Lotar, said on Saturday that the nomination had been initially accepted by the committee, but the foundation has yet to complete the full nomination process.

“Chief Raoni is a living symbol of the fight to protect nature and the rights of indigenous people in the Amazon,” Lotar told Reuters.

“He is respected worldwide for a life dedicated to the survival of our planet that is so threatened by climate change,” Lotar said.

The Brazilian government has denied encouraging recent fires allegedly set by farmers seeking to extend the agricultural frontier in the Amazon and blame the surge on the dry season.

Bolsonaro sent the army to help put out the blazes that set off a global outcry due to concern over deforestation ravaging the rainforest, considered a bulwark against climate change.

Norway, until recently the main donor to a fund to curb Amazonian deforestation, called in August on Norwegian companies active in Brazil to ensure they do not contribute to the destruction of the Amazon.
 
Brazil's Bolsonaro to leave hospital on Monday, rest at home
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro gestures during a parade celebrating the country's Independence Day in Brasilia, Brazil, September 7, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is ready to leave hospital on Monday and continue his recovery at home after an operation to treat complications from a stab wound, a doctors' statement said.

Bolsonaro underwent surgery on Sept. 8, his fourth operation after he was stabbed last year during the election campaign, making Vice President Hamilton Mourao acting president.

The president’s spokesman Otavio Rego Barros said Bolsonaro will return to Brasilia on Monday and resume his official duties in two days.

Bolsonaro is still planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month, Barros said, but has delayed his departure by one day, to Sept. 23.

During his trip to the United States, Bolsonaro will also meet defense industry executives in Texas, Barros added.
 

Well now ... this is very interesting? Has ex-Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet been using her U.N. position, to cover up her own violations?

Chile's ex-president Bachelet denies links to Brazil's Car Wash scandal
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

FILE PHOTO: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet

SANTIAGO September 17, 2019 - Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s ex-president and now the UN human rights chief, has denied allegations by a Brazilian businessman under investigation in Brazil’s massive Car Wash scandal that he paid $141,000 to cover debts incurred by her 2013 presidential campaign.

Bachelet, a socialist who served from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, denied the claims that were reported on Monday by the Brazilian newspaper Folho de Sao Paolo. It said Leo Pinheiro told prosecutors as part of a plea bargain that his engineering firm, OAS [OAEP.UL], paid the money at the suggestion of the former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“My truth is the same as always, I have never had links with OAS,” she told Chilean TV station 24 Horas in Geneva.

Lula is serving a 12-year prison sentence for taking bribes in connection with the scandal, which involved payoffs and political kickbacks on contracts with oil company Petrobras and other state-run companies.

Cristiano Zanin Martins, Lula’s lawyer, told Reuters his client had not recommended any such payments and that the latest claims were part of a “strategy” by prosecutors to persecute Lula “politically”.

“Leo Pinheiro’s version is denied by a statement filed on Feb. 7, 2017 by his own company - OAS - which said that ‘no contracts or donations were made to former presidents of the Republic, nor for institutes or foundations linked to them’,” he said.

Two other Brazilian presidents have been implicated in the scandal, along with two Peruvian presidents.

Folha cited messages between prosecutors working on Pinheiro’s case in a report that claimed he told them OAS paid the money to Bachelet’s campaign to ensure a consortium it was involved in retained a contract to build a bridge to the Chilean island of Chiloe.


In her response on Tuesday, Bachelet highlighted the fact that Pinheiro had failed to mention his claims to tell a Chilean prosecutor investigating the potential involvement of Chilean businesses or politicians in the cross-continental scandal.

She also noted that the Chiloe bridge contract was awarded not by her administration but by the government of Chile’s current president, Sebastian Pinera.

Pinheiro was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the scandal but released after three years in custody last weekend after his plea bargain was ratified by Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Chile’s chief prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, said in a statement on Monday that he would await formal confirmation of Pinheiro’s claims from Brazilian prosecutors before taking any action.

“Whoever is ultimately implicated in this testimony, no one is above the law,” he said.

Representatives for OAS and Pinheiro did not reply to requests for comment.

Brazil probe into Vale dam collapse to conclude within days, prosecutor says
FILE PHOTO: A view of a collapsed tailings dam owned by Brazilian mining company Vale SA, in Brumadinho, Brazil February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Washington Alves/File Photo

A criminal investigation into the fatal collapse of a dam owned by mining firm Vale SA should be concluded in the coming days, a Brazilian prosecutor said on Tuesday, with charges to follow.

Vale misled public on dangerous dams, prompting Brazil probe: source
The logo of the Brucutu mine owned by Brazilian mining company Vale SA is seen in Sao Goncalo do Rio Abaixo, Brazil February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Washington Alves
Faced with public outrage after its second mining dam collapse in four years killed at least 240 people in Brazil, Vale SA misrepresented what it had done to shut down its riskiest dams, a review of the company's statements shows.
 
Sep 19 2019 - Successor Temer Admits Impeachment of Brazil’s Ex-President Rousseff Was A Coup
Successor Temer Admits Impeachment of Brazil’s Ex-President Rousseff Was A Coup

Former President Michel Temer surprised Brazilians by referring to the impeachment of his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, as a "coup" for the first time.

Temer said on TV Cultura Monday night that he had "never supported or made a commitment to the coup" and had even tried to stop it.

Rousseff's backers have long called her ouster through a Senate vote on August 31, 2016 a "coup" while her foes insisted it was a justified impeachment vote to oust her.

Rousseff has stated that the impeachment was a maneuver by political rivals to get into power after more than a decade of leftist Workers' Party (PT) rule.

She was accused of improperly manipulating the budget and was replaced by then-Vice President Temer, whose Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) played a key role in Rousseff's ouster. Temer then ruled the country for 28 months before handing over the post to far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

Rousseff did not lose time to slam Temer after he tried to whitewash his role in the coup process.

After informing her followers on Twitter about the coup confession by former president, Rousseff noted, "Temer did not say, however, that the 2016 coup was to frame Brazil in neoliberalism. And of course Temer denied having directly participated in the coup."

Rousseff added that Temer did not mention his closest assistants Moreira Franco and Elisha Padilha, who are still being tried for establishing a criminal organization with Temer and obstructing justice.

The Federal Prosecution Office also accuses Franco and Padilha for joining a corruption ring in the Chamber of Deputies to cash in by using public institutions.

Temer himself has been charged many times in connection with various corruption investigations and was jailed for five days in March.

The PT ruled Brazil from 2002 until 2016 when Rousseff, the first female president of Brazil and a long-time comrade of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, was removed from office through impeachment two years into her second term.

Both Lula and Rousseff have called what has been going on in Brazil since 2016 impeachment a coup against elected leaders.
 
Brazil Senate leader offers to resign leadership post after police raid
FILE PHOTO: Members of congress and supporters of the pension reform bill at plenary of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, Brazil July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

The leader of the Brazilian government in the Senate offered to resign his leadership position on Thursday after being targeted in a police raid into possible corruption, a move that could weaken the sway of President Jair Bolsonaro in the upper house.

Speaking to journalists in capital Brasilia, Senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho offered to resign his leadership position, while staying in the Senate, after federal police officers raided his congressional offices on Thursday morning as part of a bribery investigation.

Shortly after, Onyx Lorenzoni, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, said he would talk to the president about the matter over the weekend.

Bezerra Coelho is a key figure in pushing through a proposed overhaul of Brazil’s tax system, and he is in charge of ushering a sweeping pension reform bill through the Senate.

Police allege he received 5.5 million reais ($1.33 million) in bribes to favor certain contractors in a river dredging project as well as various other construction contracts.

“I took the initiative of offering to resign from the position of government leader so that the government can, in the coming days, evaluate whether it’s the right moment to proceed with a new choice or not,” Bezerra Coelho told reporters in Brasilia.

Bezerra Coelho and a legal representative denied that the senator committed any irregularities. They also criticized the police search, saying that while the action was supported by the federal police and authorized by the Supreme Court, the prosecutor general’s office opposed the move.

According to documents released by the Supreme Court, police also believe Bezerra Coelho’s son, Fernando Bezerra Filho, received 1.7 million reais from the alleged scheme.

Bezerra Filho was a key figure in resolving a multibillion-dollar dispute between the government and state oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was not immediately clear what impact the arrests would have on the ability of Brazil’s government to move legislation through Congress. Bezerra Coelho told Reuters earlier in September that the body will likely pass the pension reform measure by mid-October. Tax reform, he said, would not be approved until the second half of 2020.

In any case, the episode weakens the anti-corruption bonafides of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro who came to power in part on a promise to put corrupt politicians and businessmen in jail.
 
I can't find this news item in English. Bolsonaro went to Texas and met George Dubya, and he asked Dubya to do whatever he could to "prevent" the return of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to power in Argentina (foreign meddling, anyone?). "More important than scoring a goal is to avoid a goal against us, and that would be Argentina going back into the hands of Kirchner... This would create a new Venezuela in South America".

Argentine judge orders case involving ex-President Fernandez to trial
FILE PHOTO: Argentina's Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner arrives to the Comodoro Py courthouse before her second hearing of a corruption trial, in Buenos Aires, Argentina May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

FILE PHOTO: Argentina's Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner arrives to the Comodoro Py courthouse before her second hearing of a corruption trial, in Buenos Aires, Argentina May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

September 20, 2019 - A federal judge in Argentina on Friday ordered a case involving ex-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to go to trial over allegations that public construction projects were awarded to firms that paid bribes to government officials.

The order to stand trial was laid out in court papers published on the judiciary’s official website. Fernandez, now running for vice president in the Oct. 27 general election, was Argentina’s leader from 2007 through 2015.

Julio De Vido, who served for 12 years as planning minister under Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner, was sentenced to five years and eight months jail time last year as part of the probe into what has come to be known as the “notebooks” case.

The scandal surfaced last year after local media obtained diaries kept by the chauffeur of a former government official, which investigators have said cataloged bribe payments from construction companies that were delivered to government offices and Fernandez private residences.

Despite multiple allegations of corruption, all of which Fernandez denies, the veteran Peronist politician remains loved by millions of lower-income Argentines who benefited from generous social spending during her two terms in office.

The self-described populist maintains that the charges against her are politically motivated.

Once expected to be the main challenger to President Mauricio Macri in the October vote, she is now running on a ticket alongside unrelated Peronist moderate Alberto Fernandez, who served as chief of cabinet under Nestor Kirchner.

The judge overseeing the corruption case, Claudio Bonadio, has requested that Congress strip Fernandez of the immunity from arrest that she enjoys as a national senator. The legislature is not, however, expected to grant that request.
 

U.N. Rights chief Bachelet says feels 'sorry' for Brazil under Bolsonaro
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet attends a session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 9, 2019.  REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who earlier this month came under personal attack from Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, says she feels sorry for Brazil, according to a Chilean media report published on Sunday

Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, accused Bachelet of “meddling” in Brazil´s affairs after she raised concerns about a jump in killings by Rio de Janeiro police, backtracking on democratic norms and attacks on indigenous communities.

He also took aim at the former Chilean President herself as well as her father, an Air Force General who remained loyal to socialist President Salvador Allende after Chile´s 1973 military coup and died in jail. “(Bachelet) forgets that the only reason (her) country isn’t like Cuba is thanks to those who had the courage to put a stop to the left in 1973,” Bolsonaro wrote. “Among those communists was her ... father.”

In an interview with Chilean national television due to be screened on Sunday evening, extracts of which were carried in the morning in La Tercera newspaper, Bachelet responded.

“I was asked in a press conference about the situation in Brazil and we gave the information that we have, which is the number of people who have been killed and the difficulty for civil society to continue doing the things they were doing before,” she was quoted as telling TVN.

Asked specifically about Bolsonaro´s reaction to her criticism, she alluded to Brazil´s own military dictatorship between 1964-1985, which Bolsonaro has praised as “glorious”.

“How I take things depends on who is saying them... So if someone is saying that their country has never been under dictatorship, that there has never been any torture there... well then let him say that the death of my father by torture ensured that Chile did not become Cuba. The truth is that I feel sorry for Brazil.”

Colombia's Duque seeks international sanctions on Venezuela to protect region
FILE PHOTO: Colombia's President Ivan Duque is seen after a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Bogota, Colombia August 5, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
Colombian President Ivan Duque called on Saturday for coordinated international sanctions targeting Venezuela to help stop President Nicolas Maduro's support for Colombian rebels and drug traffickers from destabilizing Latin America.

 
Chile's ex-president Bachelet denies links to Brazil's Car Wash scandal

Two other Brazilian presidents have been implicated in the scandal, along with two Peruvian presidents.

I'm not sure if this Peruvian Judge has any connection to the "Car Wash" scandal?

Spanish court rules to extradite fugitive Peruvian judge
FILE PHOTO - Peruvian judge Cesar Hinostroza talks to the media after a ceremony in Lima, Peru, July 26, 2018.  Courtesy of Agencia Andina/Jhony Laurente/Handout via REUTERS

Spain's High Court on Monday ordered that a fugitive Peruvian Supreme Court judge should be extradited home to face charges of influence peddling among other crimes, rejecting his allegation that he was a victim of political persecution.

Cesar Hinostroza has been at the center of a cronyism scandal since phone conversations recorded by police in a drug trafficking probe were leaked to the media, allegedly revealing what prosecutors have described a criminal network of judges who traded favors with politicians and businessmen. He has denied committing any crimes.

He was captured in Madrid last October after fleeing Peru through normal border exit points in an embarrassment to Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra’s tough anti-corruption drive. He has been held in jail awaiting extradition hearings.

“The court has ruled out the infringement of the presumption of innocence of the wanted person, or that he has been the object of political persecution, as Hinostroza claimed in his appeal,” the court said in a statement, explaining its decision.

The court said Peruvian prosecutors had failed to provide sufficient information about the alleged criminal organization, its operations and members, so an organized crime charge was rejected during the extradition hearing.

The Spanish government has the final say on extraditions, but it tends to follow the court’s rulings.

Last week, the same court rejected a U.S. request to extradite Venezuela’s former spy chief Hugo Carvajal on drug trafficking charges after determining the U.S. action was politically motivated.

Without Brazil, donors unlock $500 million to preserve rainforests
FILE PHOTO: A deforested and burnt plot is seen in Jamanxim National Forest in the Amazon, near Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

International donors agreed on Monday to free up more than $500 million in aid to protect tropical rainforests, including the Amazon where wildfires are raging, France's president said on Monday at a U.N. meeting shunned by Brazil.
 
Brazil arrests 63, levies $8.7 million in fines over fires
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An aerial view shows a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, on September 10, 2019. (REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File Photo)

September 24, 2019 -BRASILIA: Brazil’s defense minister said on Monday 63 people were arrested and issued fines amounting to $8.7 million after the military was sent to fight raging fires in the Amazon rainforest.

The announcement came as President Jair Bolsonaro arrived in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, where he said he would “reaffirm the sovereignty” of Brazil after the surge in blazes sparked international outcry.

Amid the criticism, Bolsonaro in August authorized the deployment of the military to the Amazon in an operation that was extended to October 24.

Defense minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva told a press conference that the military made 571 land and 250 air raids to combat the fires in the rainforest, a major absorber of carbon dioxide that’s home to one of Earth’s most concentrated and extensive collections of biological diversity.

Based on research from the country’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil in August recorded 30,901 fires in the Amazon region, almost triple the 10,421 recorded in the same month in 2018, Azevedo said.

The minister emphasized that the number of fires recorded so far this month in the rainforest was 17,095, well below the historical average for September of 33,426, while acknowledging that concerns remained over fires burning in certain areas, specifically the center of the forest.

“What was coming, mainly from the outside, was that the Amazon was on fire. We showed the reality, and I think it is far from a burning Amazon,” the minister said, speaking alongside a technical team that participated in the operation.

As the number of fires grew in Amazon, Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who has prioritized business over environmental and indigenous preservation, faced criticism within Brazil and abroad.

The Brazilian president hit back, accusing France and Germany of “buying” Brazil’s sovereignty after the G7 group of rich democracies offered $20 million in Amazon fire aid.
 
Brazil prosecutors file charges against tourism minister
Brazilian prosecutors have filed charges against Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio for alleged campaign finance fraud, the prosecutors' press office in Minas Gerais state said on Friday.

Rains, military response help curb fires in Brazil's Amazon in September
The number of fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest has receded, falling 36% in September from August to well below a 20-year historic average for the month, amid improved weather conditions and containment efforts by the country's military.

Brazil's Bolsonaro says beach oil slicks could be criminal or shipwreck
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends a launch ceremony of the government anti-crime project at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that oil polluting the country's northeastern beaches was not produced or sold in Brazil and could be the result of criminal activity or a shipwreck, though its origin is still being investigated.

Also, the oil hitting Brazilian beaches might be due to some activity in Ecuador?

Ecuador's Petroamazonas suspends operations at three oilfields amid protests
FILE PHOTO: Wellheads painted in the national colours are seen at an oil rig of Ecuador's state oil company Petroamazonas, in Tiputini, Ecuador October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Tapia
Ecuadorean state-run oil company Petroamazonas EP suspended operations at three oil fields in the Amazon region on Monday, the country's energy ministry said, as protests against austerity measures convulse the country.
 
Brazilian police investigate head of President Bolsonaro's PSL party: source
FILE PHOTO: Luciano Bivar President of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) is seen at the National Congress, in Brasilia, Brazil February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

FILE PHOTO: Luciano Bivar President of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) is seen at the National Congress, in Brasilia, Brazil February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

RIO DE JANEIRO Oct. 15, 2019 - Brazilian federal police launched a corruption probe on Tuesday to investigate the head of President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL) Luciano Bivar, a police source told Reuters.

In a statement, police said “Operation Guinhol” was investigating whether representatives of a political party had concealed transfers of party funds, especially to women candidates, in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose details of the operation, PSL is the party under investigation and nine search and seizure warrants in addresses related to PSL’s president Bivar were being executed.

In a statement, a lawyer representative for PSL and Bivar said “there is no evidence of fraud in the electoral process”, adding the investigation started 10 months ago and several witnesses were heard.

The operation comes amid a spat between the Brazilian president and Bivar, which might result in Bolsonaro’s exit from the party. Last week, Bolsonaro and PSL parliamentarians dissatisfied with Bivar requested information on the party’s finances.
 
Brazil Supreme Court ruling could free corruption convicts, including Lula
General view of a session of the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

October 17, 2019 - BRASILIA - Brazil’s Supreme Court began debating on Thursday whether to overturn a three-year-old rule that convicted criminals must go to prison right after losing their first appeal and not wait until they have exhausted their appeal options.

The rule contributed to the success of Brazil’s biggest corruption investigation, the so-called Car Wash operation that put dozens of company executives and politicians in jail for bribes and kickbacks, including former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The prospect of serving immediate prison time after losing a first appeal encouraged suspects to negotiate plea deals with prosecutors, providing them with information that helped unravel the biggest graft scheme in Brazil’s history.

Lula and many others convicted of corruption in the Car Wash investigation could be released from prison if the top court reverses the rule, as expected, when the justices vote on Oct. 24.

Justice Marco Aurelio de Mello, the second-longest-serving justice on the 11-member court, told Reuters on Wednesday he would vote for a return to the original rule that all appeals must be exhausted before a convicted defendant goes to prison.

Mello rejected criticism that the debate was geared to benefit Lula, who went to jail in July 2018 for 8 years and 10 months for receiving bribes from engineering companies in return for government contracts.

Mello told reporters at the court on Thursday that he expects a 7-4 decision in favor of allowing defendants the right to a full appeals process before they are imprisoned.

Former judge Sergio Moro, who handled most of the Car Wash trials and is now justice minister in the government of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, said such a decision would be a big setback for Brazil’s fight against corruption.

In Thursday’s session, lawyers for political parties opposed to the rule and the Brazilian Bar Association argued that it violated the constitution, which establishes the presumption of innocence of a defendant throughout the appeals process.

“Whether we like it or not, whether we disagree with the Constitution or find it out of date, the fact is that this is what the Constitution says,” said Jose Eduardo Cardozo, a former justice minister.

The top public prosecutor and the government’s solicitor general, who have both defended the current rule, will have the closing arguments before the justices cast their votes.

According to the National Council of Justice, some 4,895 convicts could potentially benefit from the rule change.

Lemann-backed Brazil school chain Eleva to raise $200 million to expand: sources
October 18, 2019 - Brazilian K-12 school chain Eleva Educação SA is in talks with investors to raise around $200 million in a new financing round to fund expansion, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Eleva is backed by Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, one of the three founders of private equity firm 3G Capital, a controlling shareholder at companies such as Anheuser Busch Inbev, Kraft Heinz co and Restaurant Brands International.

Eleva’s move comes as investors are targeting private K-12 school chains in Brazil, expecting strong growth, given the poor quality of public schools in Brazil.

The school network, which also has a learning system, has doubled its number of students to 70,000 in the last two years and expanded geographically through acquisitions, with 115 schools across eight states. Its revenue is expected to reach 1 billion reais ($240 million) this year.

Eleva was founded by Gera Capital, a Brazilian asset management firm focused on impact sectors.

Proceeds from the new round of financing will be used to fund acquisitions and organic growth. A small portion of the proceeds may also be raised by existing shareholders, although there has been no decision on it yet.

Other Brazilian education groups have been investing in expansion of K-12 private schools, such as Cogna Educacao, formerly known as Kroton Educacional, with its division Saber.

Businessman Chaim Zaher, founder of Yduqs , formerly known as Estacio Participacoes SA, is also investing in K-12 schools through his privately held holding.

Besides Lemann, Eleva has among its shareholders private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC, which acquired a roughly 25% stake in Eleva for 300 million reais in 2017, in a round that valued the company at 1.3 billion reais.

Itau Unibanco Holding SA’s investment banking unit is advising Eleva in the capital raising. Eleva did not immediately comment on the matter. ($1 = 4.1451 reais)
 
Brazil president's son Eduardo Bolsonaro confirmed at PSL lower house leader
FILE PHOTO: Brazilian Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro attends a sanction ceremony of the new telecommunications Law at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 8, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of President Jair Bolsonaro, has assumed the leadership of the Social Liberal Party in the lower house of Congress after a bruising struggle for control of the party, chamber officials said on Monday.

Small plane crashes in Brazilian street killing at least three: firefighter
Firefighters work near the site where a small plane crashed on a residential street in Belo Horizonte, Brazil October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Cristiane Mattos
Firefighters work near the site where a small plane crashed on a residential street in Belo Horizonte, Brazil October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Cristiane Mattos

A small plane crashed on a street shortly after takeoff in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte on Monday, killing at least three people, a firefighter on the scene told Reuters.

The single-engine airplane hit three cars which caught fire in a residential area of the city, which is the capital of Minas Gerais state, local media reported.

Leandro Gomes, a Minas Gerais firefighter, told Reuters the accident happened soon after takeoff from the Carlos Prates airport. It is the second plane crash in that street this year, Gomes added.

Gomes said one of the fatalities was on the street and another was in one of the vehicles hit by the small airplane. The third person died inside the aircraft, Gomes said. Another three victims with burns were taken to hospital, the firefighter said.

The Cirrus Aircraft airplane was manufactured in 2007 and has capacity to carry three people, according to the G1 news website.

The Estado de Minas newspaper reported there were four people onboard the aircraft, including the pilot and three passengers. Gomes confirmed there had been four people onboard.
 
Brazil Senate committee approves pension reform text, paves way for final vote later Tuesday
Brazil's Senate Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved the text of a pension reform bill, paving the way for a second and final plenary vote later in the day that will sign the landmark bill into law.

Brazil's Bolsonaro reconsiders son's appointment as U.S. envoy

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday he would rather his son Eduardo stayed in Brazil to deal with a crisis in the government's right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL) instead of becoming Brazil's ambassador in Washington.
 
Bolsonaro threatens Brazil's Globo TV over 'villainous' report linking him to murder case
FILE PHOTO: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attends the UAE-Brazil Business Forum in Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Satish Kumar/File Photo
President Jair Bolsonaro threatened on Wednesday to cancel the license of Brazil's largest TV network, Globo, accusing it of "villainous journalism" after a report connecting him with a former police officer accused of killing a Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman last year.

Brazil justice minister calls for investigation into testimony linking Bolsonaro to murder case
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro attend a launch ceremony of the government anti-crime project at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro said on Wednesday that he has asked the top public prosecutor to investigate a statement by a Rio de Janeiro doorman that links President Jair Bolsonaro to suspects in the murder of a councilwoman.

Brazil house speaker says tax reform is priority in Congress
Brazil's lower house speaker Rodrigo Maia said on Wednesday that the tax reform is currently a priority for the National Congress and that an administrative overhaul to contain the growth of payroll spending will be carried out next year.
 
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