A year into her term, Ms Rousseff’s administration is firmer in its principles, more technocratic, more personally loyal, and far more female than was Lula’s. It remains to be seen whether those changes will make her more able than Lula was to push through the structural reforms Brazil needs (The Economist).

President Dilma Rousseff plans to freeze 55 billion reais ($32 billion) in budget spending in 2012, officials said, as part of an annual fiscal exercise designed to limit inflation and signal the government’s commitment to austerity. Most investors anticipated a freeze of roughly 50 billion reais. The total government budget in Brazil this year is expected to be about 1.5 trillion reais (Reuters).

Brazil’s education system will be critical in improving the country’s stark inequalities, and last week it was announced that 600,000 tablet computers would be handed out to public school teachers at over 62,000 schools, in an attempt by the Ministry of Education to show new technologies are the way to speed up improvements (The Rio Times).

A Brazilian newspaper editor who campaigned against corruption in Mato Grosso do Sul state has been shot dead, police say. Paulo Rodrigues was killed by gunmen riding a motorcycle in the city of Ponta Pora, near the Paraguayan border (BBC).

The Brazilian Executive Public Ethics Committee will investigate alleged corruption claims involving Development, Industry and Foreign Trade minister Fernando Pimentel. Jose Paulo Sepulveda Pertence said the investigation will focus on media reports that exposed Pimentel activities as business consultant for private companies in 2009 and 2010 (MercoPress).

Recently inaugurated Minister for Women policies Eleonora Menicucci has raised eyebrows in chauvinistic Brazil after having publicly admitted to two abortions and bi-sexual experiences (MercoPress).

The Brazilian government wants to increase from four to six months the amount of paid maternity leave companies are obliged to give new mothers, the country’s minister for women’s policy said (Latin American Herald).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

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INTERNATIONAL

The Senate’s Committee on External Relations and National Defense approved the creation of an external temporary committee to cope with the crisis involving Brazilian rural producers rooted in Paraguay, also called Brasiguayos and the Paraguayan landless, known as carperos (Federal Senate).

Brazil has asked China to allow more of its manufactured goods in to the Chinese market as it seeks to tap into the country’s growing economy. The call comes as Brazil’s trade surplus with China has been rising, hitting $11.5bn (£7bn) last year. Brazil has also asked China to reduce its exports amid concerns that the influx of low-cost Chinese goods was hurting its manufacturing sector (BBC).

American politicians aren’t the only ones worried about China trade.  Brazil’s Vice President Michel Temer said that the country’s business leaders were getting increasingly wary about competition from China (Forbes).

Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota and his visiting German counterpart Guido Westerwelle called for signing a free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur (MercoPress).

After more than three decades, the United States has allowed its import tariff on sugarcane ethanol to expire, giving American consumers access to one of the best environmentally performing biofuels available at commercial scale. The Brazilian sugarcane industry hopes that decision will encourage the European Union to follow suit, in order to develop free markets for clean, sustainable and renewable fuels (UNICA).

Brazil’s trade with the Arab world increased more than 28 per cent to $25.13 billion (Dh92.9 billion) last year and is expected to grow by up to 15 per cent this year, according to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (Gulf News).

DEFENSE & SECURITY

Brazil is “very likely” to choose France’s Rafale fighter jet to refurbish its air force, government sources say, a decision that would award one of the emerging-market world’s most coveted defense contracts to a jet whose future was in doubt only two weeks ago (Reuters).

Swedish defense group Saab AB said the company has got no indication that Brazil has reached a decision on what fighter jets to opt for to rearm its air force (WSJ).

Defense Minister Celso Amorim said the need for a strong defense industrial base is part of a strategy of deterrence to ensure peace in the South Atlantic. In a speech at the opening of 2nd National Defense Seminar, held in the auditorium Nereus Ramos House of Representatives, the Minister Celso Amorim has identified a process of devolution of power worldwide and the creation of “a belt of good-will between Brazil and its neighbors in South America.” The minister said the country should extend this belt to Africa, in the spirit proposed by the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (Defpro).

Peru is considering buying ten Super Tucano light attack aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer as it works with Brazil to bolster surveillance along their jungle border, Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim said (Reuters).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

SOCIAL

Facebook’s popularity in Brazil has exploded over the past year, and the company may have its biggest competitor, Google’s Orkut, to thank for it (Reuters).

But Baidu, the leading Chinese search engine, is opening an office in São Paulo. The initial objective is to get to know the Brazilian and Latin American market in order to design a strategy for the region. “The idea is to compete directly with Google,” Wesley Barbosa, 25, the person from Alagoas newly hired for the position of business manager for Latin America, told Folha. Currently in Beijing, he will be moving to São Paulo in three months (Folha).

Economic activity in Brazil rose 0.57 percent in December from November, the second increase in a row, adding evidence of a rebound after interest rate cuts and tax incentives (Reuters).

Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Brazil’s GDP grew three percent in 2011, rejecting the Central Bank’s estimate of 2.79 percent (Xinhua).

Growth will pick up speed in the second half of the year and reach an annualized pace of more than 5 percent, due to government stimulus measures, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Bloomberg).

In December, the volume of retail trade sales in the country increased by 0.3% in comparison with that of the previous month, in the seasonally-adjusted series. Nominal revenue recorded the same percent change. As a result, the sector completed a period of four months with positive rates for volume of sales and 38 months in a row for nominal revenue. The other indexes, without seasonal adjustment, registered increase of 6.7% in volume of sales over December 2010 and the same figure accumulated in the year. Nominal revenue had rates of 10.1% over December 2010 and of 11.5% in the year (IBGE).

Finance Minister Guido Mantega denied a report the government is considering raising taxes on floating-rate debt investments, saying that no tax increases of any kind are planned at this time (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Merck & Co plans to form a joint venture with two Brazilian pharmaceutical companies to sell medicines in Brazil, the U.S. drugmaker said (Reuters).

German truck maker MAN SE said profitability will take a hit this year from the impact of new emissions standards in Brazil which could push down demand in this key market by an estimated 15 percent in the first half (Reuters).

General Mills Inc agreed to buy Brazilian food company Yoki for 2 billion reais ($1.16 billion), in a move marking its return to Latin America’s largest consumer market (Reuters).

In a globalized world like the one of nowadays, it is hard to control the economic interaction between countries and even all the barriers to imports are not enough to control a phenomenon called parallel imports (The Brazil Business).

AGRI ETC

The U.S. health regulator declined a request by orange juice producers to allow a higher tolerance of a banned fungicide in juice imports, a decision that will force Brazil to stop exporting concentrated orange juice to the United States (Reuters).

AUTOMOTIVE

Brazil in March will ease a tax increase charged on imported cars for automakers investing to build local assembly plants. The surcharge of as much as 30 percent was implemented last month, amid protests from Chinese automakers, to stem a surge of imported cars. Companies that may benefit include Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co from China and Germany’s Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, both of which have announced plans to invest in Brazil (Bloomberg).

The BNDES has approved financing of R$ 307.4 million for automaker Hyundai Motor Brasil to set up an industrial plant in the city of Piracicaba (state of São Paulo) to manufacture passenger vehicles (BNDES).

AVIATION

Gol Airlines pulled its new perpetual non-callable three senior unsecured note (bond), something many in the market expected. The bond had a minimum size of US$100m, with initial price guidance of 11.50%, “a big, sexy yield,” said a senior DCM banker in London, but not enticing enough to make it past the finish line (Reuters).

TAM, Brazil’s largest airline, cut its travel demand estimate for this year and will further lower the size of its fleet, signaling that an economic slowdown will hamper revenue (Reuters).

Embraer, the world’s third-largest commercial planemaker, booked an order for 10 regional planes from Brazilian airline Azul through the exercise of options, as the carrier grows its network of lower-traffic routes (Reuters).

Brazil’s Senate Commission on Infrastructure Services said it will invite aviation authorities to explain the bidding process for the Guarulhos, Viracopos and Brasilia airports. Senator Francisco Dornelles said he considered it “important that it is explained to the commission how it will be possible to reach the quality of service desired with the resources that will be left after the payment to the government” (Bloomberg).

Brazil is considering new rules for the next round of airport auctions because President Dilma Rousseff has concerns about the winners of last week’s bidding. The government is worried that some of the companies that won the rights to manage the Viracopos, Guarulhos and Brasilia airports don’t have enough experience in the business (Bloomberg).

A Brazilian airliner safely made a forced landing after a passenger had a “psychotic attack,” entered the cockpit and assaulted a pilot, crew members and passengers who tried to subdue him, witnesses said (NDTV).

BANKING & FINANCE

Credit availability for large Brazilian companies was “moderately restrictive” in the final three months of last year and will remain so in the first quarter, said Carlos Hamilton, the central bank’s director of economic policy, citing a survey of 22 financial institutions (Bloomberg).

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MINING & STEEL

Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer, said it is selling 80 percent of its ore using spot prices, nearly completing a historic shift to market-based pricing for the principal raw material used in steel. The new system was prompted by Chinese steelmakers, Vale’s largest client group, who wanted to benefit more quickly from falling iron ore prices (Reuters).

Switzerland is demanding that Vale SA, the world’s No.2 iron-ore producer, pays five years in back taxes, Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger’s website reported (Reuters).

Billionaire Eike Batista, whose investments range from iron ore to coal, said he’s in talks with sovereign wealth funds and other potential “strategic partners” to sell a stake in his AUX gold unit (Bloomberg).

Steelmaker Gerdau has an “extensive list” of potential partners for a plan to spin off a mining unit that has about 2.9 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves, Chief Executive André Gerdau Johannpeter said (Reuters).

OIL & GAS

Brazil’s consumption of gasoline rose 19 percent in 2011 to 35.5 billion liters, the National Petroleum Agency said, because of soaring vehicle sales and a spike in the price of ethanol. Overall, Brazil’s consumption of fuels rose by 3 percent last year to 121.5 billion liters, the agency said, including a 5.2 percent increase in diesel to 51.8 billion liters (Reuters).

Petrobras’ new chief executive, Maria das Gracas Foster, said her concern is to increase oil and gas output but she did not plan to expand the investment budget for Brazil’s state-run oil company (Reuters).

Graca Foster was appointed Petrobras new CEO last Monday. The self-made woman, nicknamed “the Iron Lady of Oil” by Brazilian press,  grew up in a favela in Rio de Janeiro and started working when she was 8 years old as a rag-picker. Maria das Gracas Foster becomes the first woman to head the Brazilian oil giant, the largest company in South America. Who is she (Forbes)?

Petrobras said it reduced output from the offshore P-43 production platform after it leaked about 30 barrels of oil into the sea. It’s the latest in a series of small spills in one of the world’s most promising new oil frontiers that have elicited fines ranging from tens of million to several billions of dollars and even criminal indictments against some oil company executives (Reuters).

Petrobras also cut its 2012 target for additional oil output by 30 percent, citing delays in building a ship. The company said it would add 336,000 barrels of new oil output a day in Brazil this year, down from its previous estimate of 480,000 (Reuters).

Brazil’s state development bank BNDES has approved the first two loans as part of a 4 billion reais ($2.3 billion) program to finance oil equipment and service providers at a time when the country plans to more than double oil production by 2020 (Bloomberg).

Sete Brasil Participacoes SA, an oil-rig provider owned by Petrobras, banks and pension funds, will spend $27 billion by 2020 on drilling units (Bloomberg).

PORTS & LOGISTICS

About a quarter of Brazil’s shipments of soy and corn to world markets were disrupted after a dry bulk carrier collided with and damaged a major grain terminal at Santos Port (Reuters).

China’s Dalian Port said it was seeking more cooperation with Brazil’s Vale, appearing to reach out to the world’s largest iron ore producer after Beijing banned its giant ships from docking in China last month (Reuters).

Render of the 163 metres tall Matarazzo tower for Sao Paulo, to be built on one the last availiable plots on Avenida Paulista (Skyscrapercity).

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DESIGN

Five architecture firms are shaping the look of the country of the future. Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal.

FIFA WORLD CUP

Brazil football chief Ricardo Teixeira will step down as president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) after 23 years in charge. The controversial FIFA executive, who is also in charge of Brazil’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup, is embroiled in corruption allegations (Daily Mail).

TRAVEL

There’s a lot to see in a country with 4,600 miles of coastline and nearly half the landmass of South America. But whether you’re into art, urbanity or the outdoors, you’ll find something to love in this destination trifecta. Three tips from the Wall Street Journal.

AMAZON

Amazon defenders face death or exile. Brazilian activists who inform on illegal loggers laying waste to the rainforests can expect a visit from the gunmen (The Guardian).

BAHIA

Current and former police officers may have committed up to 30 murders during the recently ended police strike in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, law enforcement officials there said (Boston.com).

SPLIT SECOND POLLS

RIO

Two weeks of police protests in Brazil that led to a bloody crime wave, disrupted preparations for upcoming carnival celebrations, and raised concerns about security ahead of the 2014 soccer World Cup ended when thousands of state police in Rio de Janeiro went back to work (Reuters).

Between 2010 and 2020 Rio de Janeiro will need to invest some R$15.8 billion (US$9.15 billion) in both public investment and private funding to modernize and expand its transport network, develop favelas and underground gas supply lines. That is the conclusion of a host of experts interviewed by O Globo newspaper after a series of incidents highlighted the city’s struggling infrastructure (The Rio Times).

With 2012 Carnival just days away, Rio is awash with tourists, arriving to experience what is widely deemed the greatest street party on earth. The city is full of adventuring travelers skimming their guidebooks and scratching their heads, but among the ubiquitous sound of English, French and German, is the increasing patter of Brazilian Portuguese (The Rio Times).

The Cidade Maravilhosa offers some of the best options in luxury living for those with the means, among them the sweeping penthouse views of the city. This Carnival, more jet-setters are seeking the best Rio has to offer and instead of settling for hotel accommodations, are looking to local agencies to provide them with the best penthouses in the most up-market areas in town (The Rio Times).

There are many ways to enjoy the infamous Carnival blocos of Rio, and experienced revelers have been kind enough to offer inside tips for the rookies, experiencing Carnival in the in Cidade Maravilhosa for the first time. From drinking to going to pre-parties, the veterans agree that vitality and comfort are two of the most important ingredients for an enjoyable bloco (The Rio Times).

SPLIT SECOND POLLS

SOUTH

If you are looking for a way to dodge the chaos of Carnival in Rio, then Florianópolis, capital of Santa Catarina state, might just provide the escapism you need. The stunning, 33-mile-long (53km) island on which the city sits – the Ilha de Santa Catarina – offers over hundred beaches, culture, good food and nearly 300 years of history, the gem in Southern Brazil’s crown (The Rio Times).

SPLIT SECOND POLLS

Civil servants won eight years of wage increases above inflation under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. They now believe Rousseff has become a “hostage” of the global financial crisis during her first year in office, denying raises to keep spending down, said Pedro Armengol, public sector coordinator of CUT, Brazil’s biggest labor confederation (Business Week).

Guido Mantega, the Brazilian Finance Minister, reportedly dismissed Luiz Felipe Denucci Martins, the Head of Casa da Moeda do Brasil (the Brazilian Mint), following accusations that Denucci was receiving bribes and depositing them in off-shore bank accounts. According to Folha de São Paulo, Mantega was informed in August 2011 that Denucci had begun to open offshore accounts in tax havens (The Rio Times).

The Brazilian government announced that Women Policies Minister Iriny Lopes is stepping down from her position to run in municipal elections this year. Lopes will run for mayor of Vitoria, the capital of Espirito Santo state, in the southeastern region (Xinhua).

The Brazilian government has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, demanding that the firm remove accounts in the country that warn citizens of police speed traps and roadblocks (BBC).

A piece of news in a Brazilian website caused a wave of reactions and expectations when it declared sources close to the medical team treating former Brazilian President Lula da Silva for a throat cancer said he is free of the disease (MercoPress).

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INTERNATIONAL

Tensions have reached boiling point in a landownership dispute between landless Paraguayans and Brazilian-born farmers, known locally as “Brasiguayos”, who operate farmland in the agricultural community of Ñacunday in the Alto Paraná department of eastern Paraguay. Those seeking the “foreign” farmers’ eviction believe the land is being illegally occupied and should be redistributed to locals (The Rio Times).

Vice Premier Wang Qishan left Beijing to co-host a bilateral high-level meeting, according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry. Wang and Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer will co-host the second meeting of the China-Brazil High-level Coordination and Cooperation Committee, the ministry said (Xinhua).

Rio+20 shows little sign of living up to original Earth summit. As Brazil prepares for the Rio+20 conference, there is little on the agenda to suggest any substantive action will be taken (The Guardian).

DEFENSE & SECURITY

In a somewhat unusual move, India agreed during Amorim’s trip to share with Brazil some of its experiences of carrying out the open tender evaluation to select the best aircraft. This matters greatly to Brazil, as it is currently involved in a similar selection process. Brazil would like to buy 36 fighter jets, and Rafale, F-18 and Gripen-NG are still in the race (Post Western World).

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SOCIAL

The number of foreign workers in Brazil grew 57% last year, reaching 1.51 million in December, according to statistics from the Ministry of Justice (Folha).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

Brazil’s government is considering a budget freeze of up to 50 billion reais ($29 billion) this year, two government sources told Reuters, an amount some analysts say is not enough to meet debt-reduction goals and bring inflation down.

BUSINESS

Brasil Travel Turismo e Participacoes SA canceled an initial public offering, citing “unfavorable” market conditions, as the operator of the country’s stock exchange says dozens of other companies are waiting for sentiment to improve to go public (Bloomberg).

AVIATION

The winning bid for the privatisation of Guarulhos, São Paulo’s main international airport, at 16.2 billion reais ($9.4 billion), was nearly 4 billion reais more than the second-highest bid, and 12.8 billion reais above the government-specified minimum. The high price raises several questions (The Economist).

Some of the world’s biggest airport operators came away empty-handed after Brazil auctioned licenses to run three of its busiest hubs. With the concessions fetching five times the minimum bid, their caution may have been wise (Bloomberg).

Embraer, the world’s third-largest planemaker, expects a modest increase in revenue this year thanks to the expansion of its defense unit, as regional-jet and executive aviation markets remain stable (Reuters).

Brazil’s aircraft manufacturer Embraer has delivered a Legacy 650 to celebrity Jackie Chan for the Chinese market. The aircraft is painted with a dragon logo (MercoPress).

American Airlines is renegotiating terms of $1.6 billion in debt owed to Brazil’s state development bank to help it emerge more rapidly from bankruptcy in the United States (Reuters).

Brazil’s busiest airport on Wednesday opened a new terminal meant to handle as many as 5 million domestic passengers a year. Infraero, the government agency that operates airports, said on its website that the 85 million real($49.4 million) terminal in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport will handle domestic flights, which account for more than 60 percent of the passengers using the airport (Business Week).

BANKING & FINANCE

BTG Pactual, the Brazilian securities firm owned by billionaire financier Andre Esteves, is buying Chilean rival Celfin Capital for about $600 million as it seeks to win more investment banking and capital market advisory business in South America (Reuters).

BTG Pactual also plans to create an investment fund of at least 3 billion reais ($1.75 billion) to tap infrastructure development in Latin America’s biggest economy (Bloomberg).

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s biggest lender by market value, may hire 20 to 30 executives in Brazil as it expands in South America’s biggest economy (Bloomberg).

ENERGY

Brazil may have almost 17,700 megawatts of wind power in operation in 2020, more than 10 percent of the country’s anticipated total installed capacity, according to an executive with India’s Suzlon Energy Ltd. (Bloomberg).

Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona SA, an Argentinean wind-turbine maker, plans to build a 200 million-real wind-turbine plant in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul (Bloomberg).

Brazil’s plans to build four new nuclear power plants have been delayed by about 18 months following last year’s accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, an official of Brazilian state-owned nuclear power company Eletronuclear said (MarketWatch).

HIGH SPEED

Six groups have shown interest in bidding to operate Brazil’s high-speed train, which will be auctioned in October, O Estado de S. Paulo reported, citing Transport Minister Paulo Passos and Bernardo Figueiredo, director general at the country’s land transportation agency, known as ANTT (Bloomberg).

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OIL & GAS

Petrobras will pay $76.3 billion over 15 years to lease 26 deepwater oil drilling rigs from Brazil’s Sete Brasil and Cyprus’s Ocean Rig , the largest contract in the company’s history, an executive involved in the deal told Reuters.

Petrobras said it made its first petroleum discovery in an offshore subsalt area that the state-controlled oil giant is exploring under a $70 billion oil-for-stock swap deal inked in 2010 (Reuters).

Maria das Gracas Silva Foster has worked for Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras almost all her career. And now, after 32 years, she is set to take over the running of a company that is crucial to Brazil’s economic development (BBC).

Render of the Opera Thaetre of Campinas (Skyscrapercity).

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FIFA WORLD CUP

Workers building and renovating Brazil’s stadiums for the 2014 World Cup are threatening to go on strike if employers don’t agree to their demands for unified salaries and benefits (The Republic).

AMAZON

The rhythm of deforestation in Brazil slowed significantly in 2008 and 2009 in the regions known as Atlantic Rainforest (“Mata Atlântica”), Pantanal and Pampas, according to a report released by the Ministry of Environment (Agencia Brasil).

It depends how one defines “good” news. Last week Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras announced that it had struck good-quality light oil in its Amazonas state’s Solimoes Basin SOL-T-171 concession block, which it owns 100 percent (Huffington Post).

SALVADOR

Hundreds of striking police officers agreed to leave a state assembly house they had occupied for 10 days in Salvador, easing tensions in a walkout that unleashed a bloody crime wave and cast doubt on upcoming carnival celebrations across the country (Reuters).

RIO

Police went on strike in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, risking a surge in crime just days before the beach city’s famed carnival celebrations (Reuters).

After the collapse of three buildings in downtown Rio de Janeiro in late January left at least seventeen people dead, new concerns about the condition of high-rise residential and office blocks are being raised. Now questions are being asked of CREA (the Regional Council of Engineering and Architecture), the institution whose responsibility it is to ensure those who own building comply with legal requirements (The Rio Times).

Prior to the pacification of Vidigal in November 2011, a visit to the favela was usually only made by adventure travelers, or those who had friends to escort them. The idea of a foreigner owning real estate and starting a business in the area was reserved only for a special group of forward-thinking entrepreneurs, those who saw the potential of a hillside that enjoyed one of the most stunning views in Rio (The Rio Times).

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DEEP SOUTH

Every two years, the city of Caxias do Sul, 120 km south from Porto Alegre, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, prepares itself for the Festa da Uva (Grape Festival). This year, from February 16th to March 4th, one million people are expected to be involved in the event, that happens to overlap with Carnival (The Rio Times).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

The Brazilian minister in charge of transport projects has resigned amid allegations of corruption. Minister of Cities Mario Negromonte is the seventh minister in President Dilma Rousseff’s cabinet to step down amid corruption charges. Mr Negromonte has been accused of awarding public work contracts to companies which financed his party, allegations he denies (BBC).

Brazil faces two simultaneous challenges: how to deal with recent illegal immigration, mostly from Haiti, and how to make it easier for highly educated immigrants to get work permits. A number of Brazilian ministries have either proposed or are deliberating policies as the country ushers in a new era of immigration (CNN).

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INTERNATIONAL

President Dilma Rousseff met with Fidel Castro, the revolutionary hero of her youth, and held talks with his younger brother, President Raul Castro (Reuters).

Rousseff is making her first official visit to Cuba with the emphasis on fostering business ties. Communist-run Cuba, under US trade sanctions for 50 years, has seen some economic reforms under Raul Castro (BBC).

Brazil is easing Cuba into the free market economy with a generous package of aid in cash and kind and joint projects that give the Latin American country a pre-eminent position in Havana’s heady mix of communism and experimental capitalism (UPI).

Rousseff said that her country acted properly in granting an entry visa to Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez, but that it’s an internal matter for Cuba as to whether Sanchez is allowed to leave the island (Washington Post).

Dilma Rousseff pushed back against criticisms of Cuba’s human rights record that have intruded on her first state visit to the communist island, saying a U.S. detention camp for suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay is also a concern (Miami Herald).

It is a symbol of peace around the world, but the statue of Christ the Redeemer which stands high above Rio de Janeiro is causing an unholy rumpus in one of London’s most fashionable neighbourhoods ahead of this summer’s Olympics (Reuters).

India, South Africa and Brazil have expressed disappointment over the impasse in the WTO Doha talks for a global trade deal and called for the need for resisting protectionism in the current economic situation (Xinhua).

The Brazilian government expressed concerns over the new Argentine trade barriers going in effect and informed that it would “evaluate its impact and legality” before making any decisions, Foreign Trade secretary Tatiana Prazeres announced (MercoPress).

Brazil’s trade with the Arab world soared more than 28% in 2011 to reach 25.13 billion dollars and is expected to grow a further 15%t this year, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce said (MercoPress).

Brazil reiterated its support for Argentina’s Malvinas Islands sovereignty claim and insisted that solving the controversy with the UK is ‘most important’ for South America’s stability. It also pointed out that it’s not correct to talk about “a blockade” (MercoPress).

Brazil may end a decade-old automotive trade pact with Mexico and start charging tariffs on cars imported from that country as it battles a growing trade deficit in the sector. The 2002 agreement for the import and export of cars and parts with Mexico “is being reviewed,” said trade secretary Tatiana Prazeres (Washington Post).

The accord, implemented in 2002, allows vehicles and car parts manufactured in Brazil and Mexico to enter each country without paying tariffs. But according to Brazil’s Valor Economico newspaper, Brazilian imports of Mexican cars increased 40 per cent last year to US$2bn, leaving the South American country with a trade deficit in that sector of more than US$1.6bn. Hence the decision to review the agreement (FT Beyond Brics).

Brazil is offering 6,000 visas to Haitians over a five-year period as one of several efforts that look to help the troubled Caribbean nation get on its feet, President Dilma Rousseff said (Washington Post).

The upcoming Rio summit on sustainable development must yield a new model to tackle the planet’s economic, environmental and ethical crises, according to Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira.The so-called Rio+20 gathering “is a an exceptional opportunity in a world in which people are searching for new ideas and new processes… to implement a new development paradigm,” she said in an interview with AFP.

DEFENSE & SECURITY

French Defence minister Gerard Longuet said that following on the deal to sell 126 Dassault Rafale fighter jets to India, Paris is hopeful it can seal a similar contract with Brazil (MercoPress).

Embraer Defense and Security signed last January 27 an agreement to acquire 30% of the shares representing the capital of AIRHOLDING, SGPS, S.A., from the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS). The AIRHOLDING, SGPS, S.A. is a consortium formed in 2005 by Embraer and EADS, incorporated in Portugal with the specific purpose of holding a 65% stake in OGMA. With this new agreement, Embraer takes full control over AIRHOLDING stake, while the Portuguese government holds the remaining 35% share through EMPORDEF – Portuguese Defense Company (Embraer).

The Brazilian Navy’s Tupi-class (Type 209/1400) submarine, Tapajo (S 33), is nearing completion of a BRL72.3 million (USD40 million) modernisation programme that included an overhaul of all its main systems. A Brazilian Navy spokesman told Jane’s that the submarine was relaunched in late January at Arsenal de Marina do Rio de Janeiro (AMRJ) and that the upgrade would be completed in May (Jane’s).

Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim, arrives next Saturday (04/02) in New Delhi, the capital of India, for a series of meetings with officials and visits to military installations in the Asian country. The trip aims to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries (Defpro).

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SOCIAL

Churrascarias, rodizios, and kilos are only three of the more common popular dining experiences a person can enjoy in Brazil. As with all dining in the country, visits to these establishments are both a lesson in culture as well as geography (The Rio Times).

Brazil has leapfrogged Japan to become the second most-represented country on Twitter, according to a study from social media research company Semiocast. The U.S. is still the top country on Twitter in terms of number of users with 107.7 million accounts. But Brazil now comes in at number two with 33.3 million, followed by Japan with 29.9 million (PC).

Tall and tan and young and … chunky? The Girl From Ipanema has put on a few pounds, and for many sunbathers on Brazil’s beaches the country’s iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini just doesn’t suffice anymore. A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines (Huffington Post).

The Brazilian economy should expand faster in 2012 than the previous year, the country’s central bank governor said, helped by further cuts in interest rates (Reuters).

Despite lobbying by real estate industry representatives, the government has not signaled it is willing to increase the R$500,000 cap on the limit for homes financed by the Sistema de Financiamento da Habitação (Home Financing System, SFH). Brazilian bank Caixa Econômica Federal president Jorge Hereda has said he fears an increase in the limit, as it would justify Rio’s rise in real estate prices. Many believe it would only encourage further increases in an already dangerous market bubble (The Rio Times).

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BUSINESS

The Port of Rotterdam, Brazil’s gateway to Europe and the No.1 port on the Atlantic, has opened a new office in Sao Paulo to reinforce ties with Brazilian stakeholders. Manager will be Peter Lugthart (Port of Rotterdam).

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said it has bought Brazil’s Probiotica Laboratorios Ltd for 150 million Brazilian Real ($85.69 million) to boost its presence in the sports food supplement market (Reuters).

Fuhrlander AG, a German wind-turbine maker, expects to sign about 900 million reais ($524 million) worth of sales contracts in Brazil this month as it seeks to meet the country’s increasing demand for renewable energy (Bloomberg).

Gafisa SA, Brazil’s third-biggest homebuilder by revenue, received a preliminary proposal for asset acquisition from Sam Zell and GP Investments Ltd. Exame reported earlier this week that Zell was in talks with GP for a partnership to buy control of Gafisa (Bloomberg).

Using portable communications devices is equivalent to working in the office, according to legislation signed by President Dilma Rousseff last month. The law is one more obstacle companies say they face in Brazil, where regulations mandating everything from employer- provided breakfasts to union contributions are a daily drag on efficiency bemoaned for decades as the “Custo Brasil,” or Brazil Cost. It takes less time to set up a business in Nigeria or Mongolia than it does Brazil, according to the World Bank, which ranked it No. 126 out of 183 countries in its 2012 competitiveness study (Bloomberg).

AGRI ETC

Brazil’s orange juice industry said it is urging U.S. authorities to permit a higher level of the fungicide carbendazim in its shipments, several of which have been detained by the United States (Reuters).

Eike Batista, who became Brazil’s richest person by selling shares in commodities and logistic startups, is considering entering the coffee market after setting up catering and sports management ventures last year (Bloomberg).

Brazilian beef exports declined 14% in 2011, to 820.239 tonnes swt, establishing it as the world’s third largest beef exporter behind Australia and the US (Mercopress).

Odebrecht plans to produce sugar in Cuba, the company said as incentives for foreign investment in the Castro family’s regime raise hopes of a recovery in the once-booming sector after decades of decline (MercoPress).

AVIATION

Embraer’s Ipanema agricultural aircraft reached the significant milestone of 1,200 units delivered. The success of this veteran airplane has been proven, year after year, by its great operating results and customer orders. In 2011, 58 of the aircraft were sold in Brazil and the Mercosur region, for an increase of 45% over the previous year. Studies are constantly made to improve the aircraft, which is now powered by ethanol, focusing on customers’ needs and the sustainability of agribusiness (Embraer).

Brazil’s largest airline TAM is cutting back its fleet and focusing on the profitability of existing routes as it sees 2012 air traffic growth slowing to half of last year’s pace (Reuters).

American Airlines announced changes to its coming spring and summer schedule that will expand the airline’s presence in Brazil. Next December, American’s route between Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Sao Paulo (GRU) will be operating with the new state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER, making Brazil the first market for the new aircraft.

On Monday (Feb 6), Brazil’s stock exchange, BMF&Bovespa, will hold an auction for the concessions of three of the country’s principle airports – two in the megapolis comprising of the neighbouring cities of São Paulo and Campinas and the other in the country’s capital, Brasília. According to Brazilian media, 11 proposals were filed, not only from Brazilian companies but also including British, Singaporean, American, French and South African corporates, among others (FT Beyond BRICS).

BANKING

UBS AG, which sold its Brazilian lending unit in 2009, is trying to buy another as it steps up efforts to restart an investment-banking business in the country, a person familiar with the company’s plans said (Bloomberg).

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MINING & STEEL

Gerdau SA, Latin America’s largest steelmaker, is seeking to sell 40 percent of its mining unit for about $2.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter said (Bloomberg).

Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA, Brazil’s third-largest steelmaker, said it concluded “in a satisfactory manner” an accord to purchase a pair of German steel units from Spain’s Grupo Alfonso Gallardo for 482.5 million euros ($632 million) (Bloomberg).

China, the world’s largest iron-ore consumer, tightened rules for ports that handle very large ore ships and oil tankers to ensure safety standards, restricting Vale SA’s plans to serve its main customer with giant carriers (Bloomberg).

Vale is the world’s largest producer of iron ore, and the second largest mining company in the world, and along with Petrobras, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. On January 30th a fourth Vale Canada worker died within twelve months, prompting Vale to temporarily close all seven of its nickel mines in Sudbury, Ontario (The Rio Times).

OIL & GAS

Demand from emerging markets and financial flows will keep crude prices high and volatile at around $105-125 per barrel in 2012, Petrobras Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli said (Reuters).

OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA, the oil explorer controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, plans to drill additional wells at a recent discovery in the Santos Basin and may increase estimated reserves in the area (Bloomberg).

HRT Oil & Gas is drilling in one of the most challenging and isolated spots on Earth: the heart of the Amazon. Founder and owner Mello represents a new breed of Brazilian oilmen, and his company’s arrival heralds the entry of start-ups in a Brazilian industry long dominated by the state-run behemoth, Petrobras, and multinational giants (Washington Post).

TELECOMS

Cell phone company America Movil, owned by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, said it had approval from Brazil’s telecom watchdog Anatel to take control of cable television company Net Servicos de Comunicacao (Reuters).

Render of the redevelopment of Belo Horizonte’s Central Market, which will include a theatre and convention centre (Skyscrapercity).

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FIFA WORLD CUP

Construction workers’ strikes at Brazil’s World Cup venues continue to plague preparations for the 2014 showpiece with the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador hit by a stoppage in demand of improved wages (Reuters).

AMAZON

Scientists record Amazon’s structure and biodiversity by bouncing laser beams off forest 400,000 times per second (The Guardian).

Authorities rescued 52 farm workers who were being held in slave-like conditions on three ranches in the Amazon state of Para, the government said (Latin American Herald Tribune).

RIO

Rio’s public security forces, the Polícia Civil, Polícia Militar and Bombeiros (Firefighters) are threatening to go on strike during the 2012 Carnival period if demands over increased wages and better working conditions are not met. On Sunday morning, organizers estimated thousands turned out to demonstrate in front of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, protesting against what unions say are the lowest wages for firefighters and police officers in the country (The Rio Times).

The arena for the London 2012 Olympic basketball and handball competitions may be sold for use at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the Olympic Delivery Authority said (Bloomberg).

Over the last several years, the well-traveled square Praça General Osorio in Rio’s famous Ipanema, known for its Feira Hippie (hippie market) and Carnival bloco Banda de Ipanema, has been reinvigorated with a series of infrastructure developments, transforming it from a “up-and-coming” area to high-end real estate. With Brazil’s economical growth and the Olympic effect, the praça (park) is now amongst the best developed areas in the city (The Rio Times).

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SPLIT SECOND POLLS

SAO PAULO

Foxconn plans to build five additional factories in Brazil to produce liquid crystal displays for future Apple products. The plan was announced by the Secretary of Planning and Development for the State of São Paulo, Julio Semeghini, and reported by Brazilian news outlet, Folha. The five factories are in addition to the one already believed to producing iPads and iPhones, and each is reportedly set to employ roughly 1,000 workers (BGR).

One of Brazil’s most wanted and dangerous drug barons was abruptly captured while on vacation in a posh mountain town outside of Sao Paulo. Fabianao Atanazio da Silva, known by his street name of “FB”, previously commanded a multi-million dollar drug trade from his base in Vila Cruzeiro shantytown in Rio de Janeiro (Al Jazeera).

São Paulo’s Carnival celebrations are far less known, hyped-up, talked about or even attended by as many people as those in other parts of the country – but it’s not for lack of effort or talent (Time Out Sao Paulo).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

As President Dilma Rousseff summoned her government to the annual ministerial meeting to take stock of the past year, and set out plans and goals for 2012, she must have been only too conscious of the balancing act her government will have to perform this year with keep the economy booming, the populace spending and public services improving (The Rio Times).

Black Brazilians are much worse off than they should be. But what is the best way to remedy that? Read on at The Economist.

The Economist also interviewed Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazil’s president from 1995-2002, on the future of Brazil. Read the interview here.

Petrobras ousted chief executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli, the man who oversaw the discovery of the largest oil find in the Americas in decades. Gabrielli will be replaced by Maria das Graças Foster, a Petrobras executive close to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (Reuters).

Foster, 58, plans to replace Gabrielli, 62. Petrobras Chairman and Finance Minister Guido Mantega will present Foster’s name to the board of directors of the state-run company on Feb. 9 (Bloomberg).

Dilma Rousseff wanted to have her as cabinet chief, but at the moment Lula da Silva convinced the incoming president to name Antonio Palocci, a former Finance minister who was later forced to resign because of corruption allegations (MercoPress).

Gabrielli, who studied economics at Boston University, is being prepared to replace Bahia Governor Wagner in 2014 (Forbes).

The semi-public Brazilian energy corporation headquartered in Rio, Petrobras, looks set to welcome their first female CEO in the coming weeks. Maria das Graças Silva Foster has been selected to replace the outgoing José Sérgio Gabrielli at the largest company in Latin America by revenue, which is 54 percent owned by the Brazilian government (The Rio Times).

The fight against Brazil’s Pinheirinho squatter camp eviction can be an inspiration. The left has been too slow to criticise the government’s growth-fixated policies. The squatters provide a lesson in resistance (The Guardian).

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INTERNATIONAL

Brazil granted a tourist visa to Yoani Sánchez, a dissident Cuban author and blogger, ahead of a trip to Cuba this month by Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff. The request by Ms. Sánchez to travel to Brazil for the screening of a documentary had emerged as a test of Cuba’s restrictive travel policies for its own citizens and Brazil’s willingness to prod a friendly government on a prominent human rights issue (New York Times).

After President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran took a four-country tour of Latin America this month, during which he met with several outspoken critics of the United States but was notably not invited to stop in Brazil, one of his top advisers took a public swipe at Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, saying she had “destroyed years of good relations” between the two nations (New York Times).

Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota denied that his country’s relations with Iran are shaken. The statement was in response to an interview with Iranian presidential media advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr published in the daily Folha de Sao Paulo. Javanfekr for his part said Brazil-Iran relations have deteriorated under President Dilma Rousseff (Xinhua).

The initial round of negotiations on the proposed outcome document for Rio+20 began in order to pave the way for a successful conference of world leaders in June on sustainable development. This informal round is the first of four more negotiating sessions in March, April, May and June in the lead-up to the Rio+ 20 conference in Brazil on June 20-22 (Xinhua).

Reacting to Brazil’s trade minister Fernando Pimentel comments describing Argentina as “a permanent problem” Industry Minister Debora Giorgi said that “the trade balance reality between Argentina and Brazil does not warrant Pimentel’s complaints” (MercoPress).

Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), based in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, ranks 27th in the list of the World’s Top Think Thanks, followed by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Both institutions lead their respective regions, South America and Asia. In the theme-specific evaluations, FGV ranks in the 30 most influential think tanks in the areas of international development (13th), domestic economic policy (18th) and social policy (18th). A mere ten years ago, such a prominent role for an institute in Brazil would have been unthinkable (Post Western World).

DEFENSE & SECURITY

A Jane’s expert said that there may be long-term interest from Brazil (among other countries) for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Stealth Fighter (Washington Post, page 2 of the article)).

Bolivia has signed an agreement with the US and Brazil to help reduce the production of illegal cocaine. The US and Brazil will provide technical assistance, including satellite monitoring of coca crops. The agreement comes more than three years after Bolivia expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration, accusing it of political interference (BBC).

The Brazilian Army and Navy have not handed over documents dating back to the years of the military dictatorship (1964/1985), in spite of an official request from former president Lula da Silva five years ago (MercoPress).

Brazil is speeding its research and development programs to perfect a tactical transport aircraft to rival the C-130 Hercules amid predictions the global market needs no less than 700 substitutes. The C-130J isn’t the only potential rival for Embraer’s KC-390. As the demand outlook becomes clearer and more enticing, at least four contenders want the same market share that the Brazilian aircraft maker seeks (UPI).

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SOCIAL

The middle class in Brazil during the last decade expanded to reach 90 million out of a population of almost 200 million, according to paper from consultants Datafolha (MercoPress).