With a sprint in the final minutes, Ethiopian Muse Gisachew overtook Kenyan Jonathan Kipkoech Kamosong and won the men’s race of the 100th edition of the São Silvestre International Race today (Dec. 31).

Kamosong had been leading the race comfortably but was overtaken by Gisachew near the finish line on Paulista Avenue in downtown São Paulo. He finished in 44 minutes and 32 seconds, just four seconds behind the winner, who clocked 44 minutes and 28 seconds.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Tanzanian athlete wins women’s race at São Silvestre.
• Brazil celebrates centenary of São Silvestre race.

Brazilian Fábio de Jesus Correia came in third, with a time of 45 minutes and 06 seconds.

Kenyan William Kibor came in fourth, with a time of 45 minutes and 28 seconds. Fellow Kenyan Reuben Logonsiwa Poguisho finished in fifth, with a time of 45 minutes and 46 seconds.

Brazil last won the São Silvestre men’s race in 2010, with Marilson Gomes dos Santos.

The women’s competition at the São Silvestre International Race was won by Tanzanian athlete Sisilia Ginoka Panga, who finished in 51 minutes and 09 seconds. This was Sisilia’s first time competing in the event, which she led from start to finish, maintaining a strong pace and a wide gap over the other athletes.

Kenyan Cynthia Chemweno came in second, repeating the same position as last year. She completed the race in 52 minutes and 30 seconds.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil celebrates centenary of São Silvestre race.

Repeating last year’s result, Brazilian athlete Nubia de Oliveira once again reached the podium, finishing in third place. She completed the race in 52 minutes and 42 seconds.

Fourth place went to Peruvian Gladys Tejeda Pucuhuaranga, while fifth place was claimed by Kenyan Vivian Jeftanui Kiplagati.

Brazil has not topped the São Silvestre podium for almost 20 years. The last Brazilian to win the race was Lucélia Peres, in 2006.

Rio de Janeiro’s New Year’s Eve was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration, consolidating the city as a global benchmark for New Year’s festivities. The information was released on Tuesday (Dec. 30) by municipal authorities. The record was based on an attendance of 2.5 million people at Copacabana Beach during the turn of 2024 to 2025.

Mayor Eduardo Paes officially received the title on Tuesday (30), on the main stage of the 2026 New Year’s Eve celebrations in Copacabana. The commemorative plaque was presented by Camila Borenstein, a Guinness adjudicator.

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Paes said it was an honor to receive the recognition. “We know that no city in the world holds events for so many people and with such frequency as Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the numbers, we must also highlight the qualities of the New Year’s Eve celebration, such as the joy of the cariocas and the musical diversity.”

The title was awarded based on criteria established by Guinness, including the record number of participants, the magnitude of the artistic program, the territorial extent of the event, and its cultural relevance.

Borenstein said that the title was awarded to the city of Rio after the institution received evidence, including drone footage, proving the record attendance of 2.5 million people at the New Year’s Eve celebration. “It is an honor to say that you are part of Guinness and that you are, once again, officially amazing.”

New dimensions

The 2026 New Year’s Eve party in Copacabana will, for the first time, feature new visual dimensions, with unprecedented structures, more technology, and renewed scenography, according to the municipal administration. For the fireworks display, 19 barges will be used along the coastline - almost double the number used in 2024 - delivering a 12-minute pyrotechnic show, the largest ever held in Rio.

The show will also include a display of 1,200 drones in honor of the city, with images synchronized with the fireworks and a special soundtrack by DJ Alok.

Three stages will be set up on the sand at Copacabana, with ten more installed in other areas of the city. In total, more than 70 attractions will liven up the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Rio.

Bets for the Mega da Virada draw, both in person and online, will close at 8 p.m. (Brasília time) this Wednesday (Dec. 31). The estimated prize for this year-end contest is around USD 180.5 million, the largest in the Brazilian lottery’s history.

This special draw takes place annually on New Year’s Eve. Bets can be placed at more than 13,000 lottery outlets nationwide, through the Caixa website, and via the Caixa lottery app. Bank customers can also use internet banking.

The event will take place at 10 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Caixa Lotteries Facebook page and Caixa’s YouTube channel. A simple bet of six numbers costs approximately USD 1.

The Mega da Virada prize does not roll over. If there are no winners in the six-number category, it will be distributed among those who correctly guessed five numbers in the next tier, and so forth.

Since its first edition in 2009, the Mega da Virada has paid out 130 prizes to bets that correctly matched all six numbers.

One of Brazil’s most iconic races reaches its 100th edition this year: the São Silvestre. Created in 1925 by businessman and journalist Cásper Líbero, the competition has spanned a century and established itself as one of the most prestigious sporting events in Brazil and Latin America.

The run has crowned memorable athletes and become a symbol of celebration and community on the streets of São Paulo, attracting thousands of professional and amateur runners with each edition.

Inspired by street races that Cásper Líbero witnessed in Paris, the first edition featured 48 runners. Journalist and executive director of the São Silvestre race, Erick Castelhero, explains that the contest already had one of its most famous characteristics from the very beginning.

“The idea was always to connect the last night of the year with New Year’s Eve and already usher in the new year. Perhaps Cásper did not imagine that [the race] would become what it is today.”

In the early editions, only Brazilian athletes competed. The first winner was Alfredo Gomes. The grandson of enslaved people, he was also the first black Brazilian athlete to take part in the Olympic Games. In 1945, foreign runners began participating in the competition.

Following this change, Brazil went decades without winning the run. The drought ended in 1980 with the historic victory of José João da Silva. A São Paulo Futebol Clube athlete, he recalls the impact of that title, taking the lead in the final meters.

“To tell the truth, I had no idea of the magnitude of the victory. It stopped the country - it was like a World Cup. That victory was a major milestone.”

Five years later, the athlete won the race again, becoming one of the few Brazilians to achieve this feat.

The growth of the São Silvestre race and its competitive level attracted athletes from around the world. Mexican runner María del Carmen Díaz, a three-time São Silvestre champion (1989, 1990, and 1992), trained in a volcanic region near her hometown of Toluca. In São Paulo, she overcame the 30-degree heat to win the first São Silvestre held in the afternoon. She fondly recalls the support of the crowds along the streets:

“I truly admire the Brazilian public because, as I’ve always said, I’ve been more recognized in another country than in Mexico itself. I feel proud because there are runners - men and children alike - who tell me that, because of me, they practice sports and enjoy running.”

It was only from the 51st edition onward that the São Silvestre competition began to include a women’s event. The most successful runner in the São Silvestre is Portuguese athlete Rosa Mota, who achieved six consecutive victories in the early 1980s. The second-highest number of wins was in the men’s event: Kenyan Paul Tergat claimed five victories. Among Brazilian runners, Marílson Gomes dos Santos won three times.

Popular phenomenon

Over the course of a century, the São Silvestre has also become a popular phenomenon. Thousands of amateur athletes from across the country gather on Paulista Avenue to celebrate the New Year, pushing their own limits and sharing a passion for running.

To mark its centenary, this year’s São Silvestre run will be the largest edition in history. Around 55,000 participants are expected, with races for women, men, and people with disabilities, as well as the São Silvestrinha - an event that brings together 2,000 children and teenagers from across the country, forming a new generation passionate about running.

The unemployment rate in the quarter ending in November stood at 5.2 percent, according to data released by the Brazilian government’s statistics agency IBGE.

This is the lowest rate since 2012, as measured by the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous Pnad).

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• Unemployment for third quarter of 2025 lowest since 2012: 5.6%.
• Brazilian economy grows 0.1% in third quarter.

According to IBGE, from September to November, 5.6 million people were unemployed - the lowest number ever recorded by the survey.

Throughout the historical series, the largest contingent of unemployed occurred in the quarter ending in March 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when this indicator registered 14.9 million people without formal employment.

Employment

The lowest unemployment rate in the historical series was also accompanied by a new record in employment in the country, at 103.2 million, IBGE data show.

The employment level - that is, the proportion of people aged 14 or older who were working - reached the highest percentage in the historical series of the Continuous Pnad: 59.0 percent.

Two researchers, Letícia Cotrim and Luciana Prado, both from the Faculty of Oceanography at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), will act as authors of the report for the seventh Assessment Cycle of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body. They are part of the select group of 664 experts from 111 countries chosen by the organization.

According to Uerj, only 18 Brazilian researchers are part of the new IPCC cycle, and the state university is the only Brazilian institution participating with two women, “highlighting both the scientific excellence of the university and the importance of female presence in strategic spaces for the formulation of global policies based on scientific evidence.”

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• COP30 mobilizes 190 countries across 120 climate action plans.
• Brazil calls for approval of global climate adaptation indicators.

The IPCC report is one of the main international references on the climate crisis, endorsed by all UN signatory countries and used to guide governmental decisions, international agreements, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. The document recommends public policies and actions but does not oblige nations to adopt the measures it contains.

In each assessment cycle, the selected experts analyze the most recent scientific knowledge on topics such as the physical indicators of climate change, its impacts and associated risks, and possible responses through adaptation and mitigation.

The first meeting of the lead authors and coordinators of the three working groups for the seventh cycle took place in the first week of December in Paris.

The three IPCC working groups address key dimensions of climate change. Working Group 1 focuses on the physical basis of climate; Working Group 2 analyzes impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation; and Working Group 3 covers greenhouse gas mitigation. The seventh Assessment Cycle will conclude in 2028 with the release of the Synthesis Report.

As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Brazil can nominate scientists to serve on the panel, with the IPCC selecting candidates based on their area of expertise, specialties, and scientific output. Professors Letícia Cotrim and Luciana Prado were chosen, respectively, as coordinating author and lead author of Working Group 1.

Letícia Cotrim, from the Department of Chemical Oceanography, previously served as a lead author in the sixth Assessment Cycle (2018–2021). She is now one of the three coordinating authors of Chapter 4, which covers advances in understanding Earth system processes and climate-related changes.

“Within the scope outlined by the IPCC for this chapter, aspects of the functioning of terrestrial, marine, and coastal ecosystems, as well as their interactions with the atmosphere and cryosphere (polar and high-mountain regions with glaciers), are included,” explains the professor.

For Luciana Prado, from the Department of Physical Oceanography and Meteorology, being selected to join the IPCC represents an important milestone in her career, given the large number of applications worldwide for the seventh cycle. The professor explains that she will contribute to Chapter 2, which will describe climate changes observed in recent decades from a global perspective - a kind of global diagnosis.

“My role involves compiling studies on past climates; it is paleoclimatology. By examining these situations, we can better understand how the climate system works and make more accurate future projections,” adds Prado.

The next meeting of the IPCC authors is scheduled to take place in April 2026 in Santiago, Chile.

The house arrests of eight of the 10 convicts in the coup plot ocurred in Brasília were upheld after a hearing held on Saturday (Dec. 27) by auxiliary judge Luciana Yuki Fugishita Sorrentino, from the office of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

The hearings aimed to fulfill legal formalities, as the arrests had already been ordered by Moraes, the rapporteur for the coup plot cases at the Supreme Court. Among those who participated in the custody hearings were six Army officers, a senior official of the Federal Police, and Filipe Martins, a former international affairs adviser to former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Christmas pardon decree leaves out coup plotters.
• Lula pledges to veto bill that softens penalties for attempted coup.
• Supreme Court concludes coup plot trial; 29 convicted.

Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, president of Instituto Voto Legal, was not located by the Federal Police and is considered a fugitive. The house arrest warrant against Army Lieutenant Colonel Guilherme Marques de Almeida was also not served. He traveled to Bahia but committed to returning to Goiânia to begin serving the measure.

Escapes

The house arrests were ordered by Moraes as a preventive measure against further escapes. On Friday (26), former Federal Highway Police director Silvinei Vasques was detained by local authorities after fleeing to Paraguay and attempting to board a flight to El Salvador with a false passport.

According to Moraes, there is a coordinated strategy among individuals convicted of coup-related offenses to leave the country. The justice pointed to multiple escape cases, including that of former Representative Alexandre Ramagem to the United States.

“The modus operandi of the criminal organization convicted by the Supreme Court indicates the possibility of planning and executing escapes outside the national territory, as carried out by the defendant Alexandre Ramagem, including with the help of third parties,” Justice Moraes stated.

A report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an organ linked to the Organization of American States (OAS), stated that Brazil has “strong and effective” democratic institutions and dismissed claims of censorship in the country.

According to the report, prepared after a technical visit to the country in February of this year and released on Friday (Dec. 26), the Brazilian state holds free and fair elections, maintains the separation of powers, and operates under the rule of law, with constitutional guarantees for the protection of human rights. The IACHR also affirms that there is judicial autonomy and a fully functioning system of checks and balances.

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The document contradicted the narrative promoted by allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who had sought to convince the international community that there was political persecution and restrictions on freedom of expression in Brazil.

The text also acknowledges that the country has experienced deliberate attempts to delegitimize the 2022 election results, as well as the planning and execution of an attempted coup d’état. In this context, the commission assesses that the defense of democracy is an essential condition for the full exercise of freedom of expression.

“The defense of democracy in Brazil is also a fundamental component of the defense of the right to freedom of expression, since freedom of expression requires a democratic society to be fully exercised,” the report emphasizes.

The IACHR Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Pedro Vaca Villarreal, was in Brazil in February and met with Bolsonaro, Supreme Court justices, government officials, and representatives of civil society. At the time, the meeting with the former president took place amid pressure from conservative lawmakers in the United States for the OAS to adopt a tougher stance against decisions by the Brazilian Supreme Court.

Warnings to the Judiciary

Despite rejecting the censorship argument, the IACHR makes recommendations and issues warnings to the Brazilian Judiciary, especially the Supreme Court. The document acknowledges the Court’s “fundamental role” in investigating and containing attacks on democratic institutions but points to concerns about the risk of excessive concentration of power.

“Although the defense of democracy should underpin the state’s actions, there is a risk of transforming a temporary solution, intended to be exceptional, into a lasting problem,” the text states, mentioning the possibility of creating precedents that could be used by authoritarian regimes in the future.

The document makes the following recommendations to the Brazilian Judiciary:

• Decisions regarding the removal of content on social media should be duly justified and communicated to the platforms and affected users;
• Restrictions on freedom of expression should not be based on vague concepts such as “information disorder” or “decontextualized information”;
• The category of “anti-democratic acts” should not be used to limit legitimate criticism of authorities.

Advocacy for regulation

The report also argues for the need to regulate digital platforms, provided that international human rights standards are respected. The IACHR recommends the creation of legal frameworks to address the challenges of the digital environment and the use of artificial intelligence.

The document, however, stressed that platforms should not be automatically held responsible for third-party content, provided they fulfill adequate moderation duties.

Overall, the OAS report reinforces the assessment that Brazil faces challenges related to freedom of expression, but within a democratic institutional environment and far from any scenario of censorship.

Political reactions

The Brazilian government assessed that the report reinforces the absence of censorship in the country and does not open the door to international sanctions against Brazilian authorities. The minister-chief of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, welcomed the document’s content and stated that it dismantles the narrative that Brazil is living in a “dictatorship.”

“The international recognition of the truth about the coup is yet another victory for Brazilian Justice and democracy as 2025 comes to a close, and a reminder to remain vigilant against any attempt at amnesty or sentence reductions for convicted coup plotters,” Hoffmann posted on the social network X on Sunday (28).

Allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro also attempted to interpret the report in their favor. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media that the document confirms criticisms raised by the opposition, pointing to risks associated with concepts such as hate speech and disinformation.

“My interpretation of the report is that ‘hate speech’ and ‘disinformation’ are used to persecute predetermined targets, that democracy in Brazil is relative, and that there is no longer parliamentary immunity for right-wing politicians,” the senator wrote on X on Friday (26).

An atmospheric block is causing a severe heatwave affecting several Brazilian states at the end of this year. Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) has issued a danger alert for the entire states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and portions of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, and Santa Catarina.

The phenomenon is causing temperatures to reach up to five degrees Celsius above normal for this time of year in all of these areas.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Ex-director of Brazil’s Federal Highway Police arrested in Paraguay.
• Brazil holds first flight of “flying car” prototype.
• S. Korean rocket explodes on takeoff at Brazil’s Alcântara Base.

Here are the weather forecasts for each affected state:

São Paulo – The entire state of São Paulo is under a severe weather alert. The state capital, inland areas, and coastline should see temperatures from 34 to 35 ºC. In the afternoon, the capital will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

Rio de Janeiro – The entire state of Rio de Janeiro is also under a severe danger alert. The heatwave will affect the state capital, the entire metropolitan area, the coast, and inland areas. Temperatures are expected to reach 39 °C. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are a possibility in the afternoon.

Espírito Santo – The southern part of the state is under red alert. Temperatures in Cachoeiro do Itapemirim will reach 34 °C. No chance of rain.

Goiás – Southern Goiás, near the borders of Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul, will experience intense heat. Itumbiara will reach 34 °C. No chance of rain.

Minas Gerais – Intense heat in the Triângulo Mineiro region. Temperatures in Uberlândia should reach 33 ºC. No rain.

Mato Grosso do Sul – Heat reaches the east of the state. Temperatures in Três Lagoas will reach 36 ºC. No chance of rain.

Paraná – The northwest and central areas of the state can expect intense heat. The temperature in Curitiba, the state capital, will reach 31 °C. There is a chance of isolated showers in the afternoon. Londrina will see temperatures of 34 °C with a chance of rain and thunderstorms.

Santa Catarina – The severe weather warning also applies to northern Santa Catarina, reaching the city of Joinville, where temperatures may reach 32 °C.

The former director of Brazil’s Federal Highway Police, Silvinei Vasques, was arrested in Paraguay on early Friday morning (Dec. 26).

Sentenced by the country’s Supreme Court to 24 years and six months in prison for his involvement in the coup plot aimed at keeping onetime President Jair Bolsonaro in power after his electoral defeat in 2022, he was arrested at an airport in Paraguay while attempting to board a flight to El Salvador.

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According to the prosecution, Vasques participated in a group that coordinated the use of police forces to support Bolsonaro’s illegitimate permanence, ordering agents to set up checkpoints that would hinder voters on their way to the polls to vote for then-candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the second round of the 2022 elections, held on October 30 of that year.

Vasques is also said to have attended the meeting of October 19, 2022, in which the use of highway police operations to prevent voters from voting in the second round was discussed. He is credited with the phrase, “the time had come for the Federal Highway Police to pick a side in the dispute.”

During the trial of the former police director and other defendants in the so-called Nucleus 2 of the criminal case involving the coup plot, by the first panel of the Supreme Court, on December 9, Vasques’ lawyers argued he did not act to prevent Lula’s voters from traveling to the polls in the second round of the 2022 elections.

Vasques had his preventive arrest ruled in August 2023 and spent a year in custody until Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted him provisional release upon compliance with a series of precautionary measures – such as the use of an ankle tag and the cancellation of his passport.

In a report published on the G1 website, journalist Andréia Sadi attributes to the current director of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, the information that Vasques left Brazil without judicial authorization after breaking his ankle tag. When approached and arrested by Paraguayan authorities, Vasques reportedly had an original Paraguayan passport with false personal information.

The Federal Police were reached by our team and had not commented on the information reported by G1 as of the publication of this article.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday morning (Dec. 24) was admitted to Brasília’s DF Star Hospital, where he will undergo surgery to treat an inguinal hernia. The procedure is slated to take place on Thursday (25), following recommendations from private doctors and experts from the Federal Police.

Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence of 27 years and three months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government, was authorized to undergo the procedure by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Report confirms Bolsonaro used soldering iron to break ankle tag.
• Justice Moraes: Meetings with Central Bank discussed Magnitsky Act.
• Supreme Court recognizes existence of structural racism in Brazil.

Escorted by officers from the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília to the hospital, the former president was admitted around 9:30 am, accompanied by former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

During the day, Bolsonaro is expected to undergo preoperative tests, his defense attorneys said.

Throughout his hospitalization, surveillance will be maintained 24 hours a day, with two agents stationed at the door of his room, in addition to other teams inside and outside the hospital, as determined by the Supreme Court justice.

Sculpted in different materials, the figures that, according to Christian tradition, depict the scene of Jesus’ birth are displayed in nativity scenes throughout Brazil. They are found both in public spaces and in the privacy of homes.

The Presépio Natural Mãos de Deus (“Hands of God Natural Nativity Scene”) in Grão Mogol, Minas Gerais state, is known as the world’s largest permanent, open-air nativity scene, covering an area of 3,600 square meters. The figures are carved in stone.

Conceived by businessman Lúcio Marcos Bemquerer, who died in 2021, the nativity scene complex is 30 meters high. The entire construction was donated to the state’s Archdiocese of Montes Claros.
 

Movement

The artwork is the main attraction for religious tourism in the region and is reported to have seen a 20-percent surge in visitors every year. In 2024, tourism increased the number of jobs in the sector by at least 50 percent.

Another option for visitors is the Som, Luz e Movimento (“Sound, Light, and Movement”) nativity scene, with free admission, by Brasília’s Arautos do Evangelho (“Heralds of the Gospel”) group. The characters are sculpted in plaster and presented in motion. The scenes are narrated and electronically automated, with technology imported from the US.

At home

Inside their homes, Brazilians have also continued to cultivate the tradition, even in times when screens have become so ubiquitous. Not surprisingly, the meaning of the nativity scene is constantly being reinterpreted. One of the enthusiasts of nativity scenes, Federal Representative Chico Alencar shared a text and a video on social media featuring actress Fernanda Montenegro, a grande dame of Brazilian drama.

“The nativity scene denounces an unequal society. There are Mary, Joseph, and the baby – a family without land or shelter. It’s near where the shepherds of the night live, on the margins, to protect their sheep from ravenous wolves,” she states, based on the text written by her congressman friend.
 

 

 

 

 

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Um post compartilhado por Chico Alencar (@chico.alencar)

On canvas

Another tribute to nativity scenes in 2025 was inspired by Rio de Janeiro artist Cora Azedo. Using vibrant colors and black angels, she produced the work in acrylic on canvas.

The canvas was sent to an exhibition of nativity scenes in João Pessoa, Paraíba state. “This is the second nativity scene I’ve made,” said the artist, who is an admirer of naïve art.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of Brazil’s Supreme Court, said Tuesday (Dec. 23) that the meetings he had with the president of the country’s Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, were held solely to discuss the Magnitsky Act – which the US government applied against the justice.

Moraes’ statement was released one day after the newspaper O Globo published a report stating he had defended the approval of the purchase of Banco Master by Banco Regional de Brasília (BRB), a public financial institution linked to Brazil’s Federal District government, during talks with Galípolo.

Notícias relacionadas:

• US scraps Justice Alexandre de Moraes and wife from Magnitsky Act list.

The meetings allegedly took place before the Central Bank’s decision last month to liquidate Banco Master due to suspected fraud. The investigation also led to the preventive detention of banker Daniel Vorcaro, one of the bank’s partners. Days later, Vorcaro was granted habeas corpus by federal court authorities and is now facing charges at liberty.

Before the liquidation ordered by the Central Bank, the Barci de Moraes law firm, which belongs to the Justice Moraes’s family, had provided services to Banco Master.

In a press release, Alexandre de Moraes stated that, in addition to Galípolo, he also met with representatives from banks Itaú, Bradesco, BTG, and Banco do Brasil, in addition to bank associations Febraban and the National Confederation of Financial Institutions to discuss the consequences of the Magnitsky Act.

“At all meetings, specific issues related to the serious consequences of the application of the aforementioned law were discussed – in particular the possibility of maintaining bank transactions, current accounts, credit cards, and debit cards,” it said in a statement.

The Central Bank has confirmed that the meetings addressed the effects of the law.

On December 12, the US government announced the withdrawal of economic sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, which had been imposed by the US government against Moraes, his wife, lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and Lex (Institute for Legal Studies), a company linked to the justice’s family.

The sanctions were imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump, a supporter of former Brazilian President Bolsonaro, in retaliation against Moraes, who is rapporteur for the cases brought against Bolsonaro.

Eve Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Brazil’s plane maker Embraer, conducted the first flight of the full-scale prototype of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo state. The unmanned flight took place last Friday (Dec. 19).

According to the company, the integration of essential aircraft systems – such as the fifth-generation fly-by-wire concept – and rotors dedicated exclusively to vertical flight were tested successfully.

The aircraft performed a hover flight – which is when the equipment remains motionless in the air above a fixed point on the ground, maintaining constant altitude and position, requiring precise control to balance lift and weight.

From now on, Eve will gradually expand testing until it achieves fully wingborne flight with the aircraft in 2026.

“The prototype performed exactly as predicted by our models. With the data, we will expand the aircraft’s envelope and move forward with wingborne transition flight in a disciplined manner, increasing to hundreds of flights throughout 2026 and building the knowledge necessary for type certification,” Eve’s Chief Technology Officer Luiz Valentini said.

According to the company’s Chief Product Officer Jorge Bittercourt, the flight demonstrates the aircraft’s reliability, efficiency, and simplicity.

“We have validated critical elements, from our lift rotor architecture to the aircraft’s flight mechanics, and now we are moving on to the flight test phase with a focus on evolving the product's maturity,” he stated.

Funding

The aircraft project is funded by FINEP the Brazilian government’s innovation agency and has received some BRL 37 million in economic subsidies.

According to Finep President Luiz Antônio Elias, the project positions Brazil at the forefront of urban air mobility. “This inaugural flight embodies Brazil’s strategy to lead the global transition to sustainable aviation, with cutting-edge technologies such as electric propulsion and artificial intelligence,” he noted.

The South Korean HANBIT-Nano rocket – the first commercial flight launched from a Brazilian base – exploded minutes after takeoff from Alcântara Base, in Maranhão state, on Monday (Dec. 22). The vehicle was unmanned.

The Innospace rocket took off at 10:13 pm and, the Brazilian Air Force reported, suffered an “anomaly that caused it to crash into the ground.”

Notícias relacionadas:

• Rocket launch from Alcântara Base postponed to Friday.

According to the statement, a team from the Air Force and the Fire Department was sent to the crash site to examine the wreckage. Innospace is also working to determine the cause of the failure.

The launch of HANBIT-Nano had been postponed several times. Initially, the flight was scheduled to take place in November. The date was changed to December 17, but an anomaly was identified, leading to another change, this time to December 19. Another problem caused the launch to be moved to Monday (22).

The spacecraft was 21.8 meters long and weighed 20 tons. It was to carry satellites into space to be placed in Earth orbit. It also carried eight payloads – five small satellites and three experimental devices developed by Brazil and India.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed the Christmas pardon decree – a decision that grants amnesty to convicts who meet certain legal requirements, such as having been sentenced to up to eight years and having served at least one-fifth of their sentence. The document also covers the reduction of penalties in some cases.

The decision does not apply to those convicted of violent crimes, for instance. In this year’s pardon, among the crimes not covered are those that threaten the democratic rule of law – as perpetrated by the people convicted of participating in the attempted coup of January 8, 2023.

Individuals convicted of abuse of authority, drug trafficking, and sexual crimes are also barred from clemency, in addition to those who have benefited from plea bargaining deals or members of criminal rings, and individuals serving sentences in maximum-security prisons.

For custodial sentences, pardons can also be granted to people with severe disabilities – such as blindness and quadriplegia – people with HIV in its terminal stages or with serious illnesses, women with high-risk pregnancies, and people with severe autism spectrum disorder. Individuals over 60, parents of children with serious illnesses or disabilities, and people indispensable to the care of dependents are also eligible.

For fines, the decision applies to convicts who do not have the financial means to pay them or when the amount is below the minimum threshold for tax enforcement by the National Treasury.

The measure is a legal and exclusive power of the Brazilian president under the Constitution and can be signed each year. Once the decree is published, convicts who meet the rules can go to court to claim their right to the benefit.

A key point in Brazilian President Lula’s speech at the Mercosur meeting on Saturday (Dec. 20) was the risk of armed conflict in South America in the face of the threat of US military intervention in Venezuela – which could lead to an attempt to overthrow the current regime of President Nicolás Maduro, possibly triggering a new war of unpredictable proportions in the region.

“More than four decades after the Falklands War, the South American continent is once again haunted by the military presence of an extra-regional power. The limits of international law are being tested,” he said, adding that “an armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe for the hemisphere and a dangerous precedent for the world.”

Right now, US troops surround the Caribbean Sea on the Venezuelan border under the pretext of combating drug trafficking. A blockade has been set up to prevent the navigation of oil tankers from the Caribbean country, one of the largest oil producers on the planet.

Oil is the heart of Venezuela’s economy, and US action could cause financial suffocation for the country.

Since September, approximately 25 attacks on vessels in the Caribbean have been carried out by US military forces, killing at least 95 people.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,” US President Donald Trump stated in recent days.

The threat has heightened tensions and sparked speculation about what the real US interest in a regime change in Venezuela might be, beyond the alleged fight against drug trafficking.

In an interview with journalists last Thursday (18) at the Planalto presidential palace, Lula said he had held telephone conversations with both Maduro and Trump in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the situation.

“I told President Maduro that if he wanted Brazil to help with anything, he had to say what he would like us to do. And I said to Trump, ‘If you think Brazil can contribute, we will be very interested in talking to Venezuela, talking to you, talking to other countries so that we can avoid an armed conflict here in Latin America and in our beloved South America.’ And Brazil really appreciates this, because we share many kilometers of border with Venezuela,” he said at the time.

“Negotiations could be held without war. So, I am always concerned about what lies behind this. Because it cannot be just a matter of overthrowing Maduro. What other interests are there that we are not yet aware of?” the Brazilian president questioned regarding the US motivations for the military threat.

Lula also promised to call Trump again before Christmas. The Brazilian president had already warned Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira not to travel too far from Brazil over the next few weeks in case the situation worsens.

A group of Mercosur members led by Argentina released a joint statement calling for the restoration of democracy and respect for human rights in Venezuela. The document was signed on the sidelines of the bloc’s summit, which took place in Foz do Iguaçu, South Brazil, on Saturday (Dec. 20), under the presidency of Brazil.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva did not sign the statement, nor did Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi. The government’s view is that such a document, signed by Mercosur, could be interpreted by US authorities as support for possible US military action in Venezuela, which is not in Brazil’s interest.

The letter does not mention the tension between the US and Venezuela or the increased US military presence in the Caribbean region. President Donald Trump’s administration does not recognize Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013, as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

The US has been bombing vessels and seizing oil tankers under the pretext of combating drug trafficking routes that supply the US. In President Nicolás Maduro’s opinion, however, there are interests in the country’s oil wealth, and the military buildup in the region is aimed at removing him from power.

The Caribbean country is one of the largest oil producers on the planet. Oil is the heart of Venezuela’s economy, and US action could cause financial suffocation for the country.

Statement

The statement issued yesterday was made in the name of the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; and Panama, José Raúl Mulino. High-ranking officials from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru also signed the letter. They expressed “deep concern” about the serious migration, humanitarian, and social crisis in Venezuela, a country suspended from the South American bloc.

“[The leaders] reaffirmed their firm commitment to achieve, through peaceful means, the full restoration of democratic order and unrestricted respect for human rights in Venezuela,” the statement said.

Mercosur was founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and accepted Venezuela as a member in 2012. In 2017, however, the country was suspended for breaking democratic order, based on the clauses of the Ushuaia Protocol, signed in 1998, which deals with the democratic commitments of the bloc’s countries.

In the statement, the countries also ratified the validity of the Ushuaia Protocol and reiterated, among other things, “the coordination of mechanisms for the defense of democracy.” They also call for the release of political prisoners.

President Lula did not officially recognize Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the July 2024 elections in Venezuela, but the government has been “deeply cautious” with issues involving the neighboring country.

In this sense, the view of the Brazilian government is that it serves no purpose to approve a statement saying that a political problem must be resolved without mentioning that there is a “threat of military solution” posed by the US.

Catastrophe

In an interview with journalists last Thursday (18) at the Planalto presidential palace, Lula reported that he had held telephone conversations with both Maduro and Trump in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the situation. During the Mercosur meeting, he stated that intervention in Venezuela would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and set a dangerous precedent for the world.

“More than four decades after the Falklands War, the South American continent is once again haunted by the military presence of an extra-regional power. The limits of international law are being tested,” he told leaders in his speech.

Argentine President Javier Milei called Nicolás Maduro a “narco-terrorist” and praised the military actions on the Venezuelan coast.

“Argentina welcomes the pressure from the US and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people. The time for timidity on this issue is over,” he said in a speech at the Mercosur summit.