GDP increases by 0.5%

The Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by just 0.5% in the second quarter of 2006, largely frustrating the economic, which expected better numbers. Many experts had predicted the GDP could have increased up to 1% in comparison to the first quarter. With the result, the cumulated increase in the GDP for the 12 months ending in June was 1.7%, making the government's projection of a 4% increase for the year more unlikely. According to the data released by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), lower numbers in industry production and investments contributed for a lower than expected result.

Central Bank lowers interest rates by 0.5%

The Brazilian Central Bank surprised many analysts on Wednesday and lowered the basic interest rate in the country by 0.5%, from 14.75% to 14.25% a year. Experts had predicted the bank would lower the rate by only 0.25%. The Central Bank limited to explain it decided to take the cut after analyzing the economic situation and inflation perspectives for the country.

Embraer sells 100 planes to China in US$ 2.7 bi deal

Brazilian airplane makers Embraer announced today the sale of 100 planes to Chinese group HNA, in a deal worth an estimated US$ 2.7 billion. According to the company, 50 ERJ-145 planes -which seat 50 passengers - will begin to be delivered in September of 2007, with other 50 Embraer 190 - which seat 100 people - starting being delivered three months later. The smaller planes will be produced in the plant the company co-owns in China, while the others will be made in Brazil.
For more information, check the Embraer website.

Strike halts Volkswagen production unit

After Volkswagen's decision to fire employees from its Sao Bernardo unit, the workers' union called a strike that has halted production at the venue, according to reports on the Brazilian media. Amidst negotiations to decide the future of 12,000 workers employed at the Sao Bernardo plant, the company decided to start sending letters to 1,200 people informing them they'd be fired after November. The union considered the move to be a stab on the back due to the ongoing negotiations, and called for the strike. The company wants to cut jobs to stay competitive against a devalued US dollar against the local currency, the real.

Kidnapped men is freed to pay for own ransom

Urban violence is nothing new to Brazil, particularly in large cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Armed robbery, murders and kidnappings happen at a very high rate, and the local population has managed to adapt to this situation one way or another. This week, however, a kidnapping took a different turn when a kidnapped businessman was freed before any ransom was paid, so he could arrange for the payment himself. According to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, the 63-year-old man was freed just hours after being kidnapped, with the compromise he should pay the ransom or be killed. He continued receiving threatening calls even after giving the money to the criminals, at which point he decided to contact the police. One man has been arrested, while three remain at large.

Lula promises lower interest rates

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised on Tuesday to lower interest rates if reelected. Favoured to win a second term in office, Lula also said he would increase government spending to boost economic growth. His program also includes a higher distribution of income in the country, which has an extremely high discrepancy between the income levels of rich and poor.

Mr. Da Silva's main opponent, former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, claimed on National TV that he'd try to lower income taxes if elected, as well as fight corruption, "which prevents Brazil from growing."

Volkswagen may still close major plant in Brazil

German automaker Volkswagen started sending letters to more than 1,000 workers this week informing they will be laid off after November 21, according to the workers' union. The decision came after the government announced it would delay giving out a loan of R$ 500 million (around US$ 230 million) to the company until it reached an agreement with the workers union regarding its plan to fire 3,600 of the 12,400 workers at its Sao Bernardo plant, in Sao Paulo. If the union does not accept Volkswagen's demands, the company threatens to close the plant altogether and fire some 6,000 people. The moves are said to be vital in order to remain competitive in the market, according to the company.

Traffic violation capital of the country

How about having at least one traffic violation ticket issued per year for each car in circulation? No it's not a new creative form of generating returns for the traffic authorities, but rather something that happened in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. According to a report by newspaper Correio Braziliense, the traffic authorities issued more traffic tickets in 2005 than the number of registered vehicles in the city. For a total of 855,399 vehicles that were running in the Federal District - which includes Brasilia and other so-called 'sattelite cities' around the capital -, 866,435 tickets were issued. The newspaper claims the huge volume of tickets is higher than other similiar cities in the country, and explains the main reason for that is tighter enforcement of traffic rules in the capital of Brazil.

Archbishop Dom Luciano dies in Sao Paulo

Brazilian archbishop Dom Luciano Pedro Mendes de Almeida died on Sunday from complications derived from liver cancer. A former president of the Brazilian National Conference of Bishops (CNBB) from 1987 to 1994, he had been in hospital for more than a month, to treat his recurring liver cancer that first appeared in 2004. A strong fighter for human rights, Dom Luciano played a key part for the Brazilian church in the redemocratization of the country in the 1980s.

Google may close relationship site in Brazil

Being threatened by the Brazilian Justice system to give out information about users of its Orkut relationship site that may be involved in illegal activities in the country, Google may choose to close or limit access to the site by Brazilian users. The information was given out today by the leading Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, which admits talking to employees of the company in Mountain View, CA. These employees requested to remain anonymous, according to the newspaper.

A site similar to MySpace.com, Orkut has flourished in Brazil, having close to 16 of its 20 million users based in the country. The decision of closing access to the site still depends on the result of negotiations between the company and the Brazilian Justice system, which has requested that Google should give out information about users that may be involved in illegal activities in the country.

Taxes break new record

The total taxes collected by the different levels of government in Brazil reached amazing 37.37 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year, according to a release made today by the Brazilian Federal Revenue Agency. It's a new record for the country, which had registered a percentage of 35.88 percent of GDP in taxes in 2004. Simply amazing, given the lack of infrastructure and services received by the population in exchange for this taxation.

Unemployment rates slightly up

The monthly Brazilian Statistics and Geography Institute (IBGE) poll on unemployment revealed a slight increase from June to July. According to the institute, 10.7% of people seeking work in Brazil's 6 major cities were unemployed in July, against 10.4% in June. It's the highest unemployment rate since April of 2005, when it reached 10.8%. The study also showed a 0.7% decrease in income levels, in comparison to June.

Hackers attack Workers' Party website

Hackers attacked the website of president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's party, the Workers' Party (PT), available at www.pt.org.br. According to the party's press office, the site was attacked this afternoon, and taken down later as a preventive measure. The party is still trying to evaluate the extent of the damage done to its website and servers.

According to Brazilian media outlets, the hackers changed the main page of the site, posting a message that read: "No more of this s...!", in reference to the upcoming October elections that could give another four-year term to Mr. Da Silva. His government has been tainted by a series of scandals that culminated in several of his closer allies having to step down from office. The president, however, has claimed he wasn't involved and did not know about the wrongdoings of his former associates.

Study shows how climate change is affecting Brazil

A study released today by Greenpeace Brazil shows how the country has already started being affected by climate change. The document lists a series of incidents that can already be seen in the country, like only a tiny slit of water at the famous Iguacu Falls - down to one tenth of its normal volume last June -, drought in the Amazon and others. It also shows how global climate change can lead to serious climate events like tropical cyclones and an increase in sea level covering some coastal areas, or the permanent transformation of the Amazon into a desert in less than 50 years. The latter would be caused by increasing droughts thanks to global warming, but also due to the increasing deforestation of the region.

The complete report, titled “Climate Change, Life Change – How Global Warming already affects Brazil”, includes studies by universities and environmental agencies from Brazil and abroad. According to Greenpeace, not only the envioronment, but also the economy can suffer with all the changes. Agricultural production, for instance, can see a 75 percent drop in its production in the next century.

Brazilian Justice wants data from Google

Brazilian prosecutors are suing Google Brasil for not giving them information about users that may have exchanged pornographic images of minors. According to the officials, users from the relationship site Orkut have undertaken illegal action in discussing and exchanging the images. A copy of the investigation papers was delivered to the American Embassy in Brasilia, and another shall be forwarded to Google headquarters in the US. If Google does not obey, the prosecutors want the company to pay a daily R$ 200,000 fine (approximately US$ 100,000).

Brazilian justice officials have been constantly asking for help from the company to solve different sort of crimes that may be planned or helped by the nature of the relationship site, similar to other services like MySpace. Since some of these requests have already been granted by the Justice system and the company has yet to give out the information, the prosecutors ask for an additional fine of R$ 130 million (close to US$ 65 million) to be paid by Google.

The Brazilian subsidiary says it will help in any way it can, but argues that the information is stored in the US, and has no access to it. If the orders are not obeyed or the fees paid, prosecutors threaten to demand the subsidiary to be closed.

Plane lands in highway in Sao Paulo State

The experience and luck of a pilot averted a minor tragedy in Sao Paulo State this Tuesday. A small plane carrying the pilot and two passengers had to make an emergency landing in a highway near the city of Sao Roque, after the plane's engine lost power in mid-air. Without any other option for landing the plane safely, the pilot chose a section in the highway he deemed to be 'less busy,' and successfully completed the landing. Nobody was hurt, and the plane only suffered a minor dent when one of its wings hit a traffic sign on the side of the highway. The plane had undergone all its regularly scheduled maintenance checks, and no reason for the power outage had been found yet as of Tuesday night.

President gains ground in election race

A new poll by Datafolha has shown that president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has increased the number of potential votes in his bid for a second term. According to the research taken by Globo TV and the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, Mr. Da Silva's government has a 52 percent approval rate, the highest since Datafolha began taking these polls, in 1987. The current president jumped 2 points in the election race and now has 49% of the intended votes, against 25% by former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, and 11% by Heloisa Helena.

Lower House wants to impeach 10% of its members

The Ethics Comission of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies (lower house of Congress) officially opened impeachment proceedings against 67 of its members on Tuesday. They are accused of embezzling public health funds in a scandal that became known as the 'Sanguessuga' Mafia, or 'bloodsuckers' case.

Partners from a company that sold ambulances to municipalities told police they bribed mayors and congressmen to win public supplier selections and sell their products at a higher price.
The proceedings should start early in September, but run the risk of not achieving their goals before the end of the current legislative session. Elections for the Lower House take place in October, alongside the presidential elections in Brazil. Only two of the congressmen being investigated have resigned voluntarily so far.

The number of Lower House members being investigate is more than 10 percent of the total number of members in that house. Recently, another unrelated scandal caused the resignation of important members of government, accused of bribing opposing congressmen to obtain their support during certain voting sessions in Congress. Even then, the president is still favoured to win a second term in the upcoming elections.

Botox world

Newsmagazine Veja current issue highlights in this week's cover article how president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has surrendered to the beauty advantages of a Botox treatment. Unfortunately, this seems to be a growing trend among Brazilian politicians, all wondering how they can look better in front of the cameras to appeal to their potential voters.

It's not a coincidence that this comes just as the compulsory election campaign advertisement hits TV and radio waves, ahead of the October elections. If only Mr. Da Silva would commit as much attention to other problems facing the country as he is to his appearance, then maybe he'd stand a better chance of a higher approval rating.