Reports of cybercrimes rose again across the country last year. The National Center for Reporting Cybercrimes, part of the non-governmental organization SaferNet, received 87,689 new complaints (not repeated or duplicate), marking a 28.4 percent increase over 2024 - 19,403 more complaints than the previous year.

Most reports registered with SaferNet in 2025 were related to images of child abuse and sexual exploitation, totaling 63,214 notifications. This is the second-highest number of complaints of this type in SaferNet's history, surpassed only in 2023, when 71,867 notifications were recorded. The organization believes that the use of artificial intelligence has contributed to the increase in cases.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil signs UN Convention Against Cybercrime.
• Brazil approves online patrols to detect child pornography.

Reports of misogyny, violence, or discrimination against women ranked second, with 8,728 cases, followed by reports of advocacy and incitement to crimes against life, with 4,752 cases, and racism, with 3,220 cases. Complaints of misogyny showed the largest increase during the period, rising from 2,686 to 8,728 cases - an increase of 224.9 percent.

Among the reports received by the hotline, only those related to xenophobia decreased compared to 2024, falling from 3,449 to 755 cases last year. Complaints of human trafficking remained stable at 442 cases. Meanwhile, reports of religious intolerance, LGBTphobia, neo-Nazism, and animal abuse all saw an increase.

Helpline

Another statistic released by SaferNet on Tuesday (Feb. 10) showed that the Helpline, SaferNet’s free support channel, registered a 39 percent increase between 2024 and 2025, with a total of 2,254 calls. The majority of these calls were related to the exposure of intimate images, with 576 cases, followed by mental health issues (332), problems with personal data (228), fraud, scams, or fake e-mails (212), and cases involving images of sexual abuse and exploitation (209).

The data are being presented by SaferNet as part of Safer Internet Day celebrations.

Electricity and gasoline prices rose in January, causing Brazil’s official inflation for the month of the year to close at 0.33 percent, the same level as in December. In January 2025, the rate was 0.16 percent.

With this result, official inflation—as gauged by the country’s consumer price index IPCA—has reached 4.44 percent over the past 12 months, thus within the government’s maximum tolerance limit.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil’s inflation ends 2025 at 4.26%, within target.
• Brazil’s Central Bank keeps benchmark interest rate at 15% per annum.

Gasoline exerted the greatest upward pressure, accounting for 0.10 percentage points (p.p.) of the index, while cheaper electricity bills accounted for -0.11 p.p.

The data were released Tuesday (Feb. 10) by the statistics bureau IBGE.

Target

The inflation target set by the National Monetary Council (CMN) is three percent, with a tolerance of 1.5 percentage points above or below – i.e., a range of 1.5 to 4.5 percent. Since last November, the IPCA has been within the tolerance limit.

Since the beginning of 2025, the target assessment period has been the previous 12 months, rather than just the end of the year (December). The target is considered unmet if the tolerance range is exceeded for six consecutive months.

Index

The IPCA calculates the cost of living for families with incomes between one and 40 minimum wages. In total, prices are collected for 377 sub-items, including products and services, across ten metropolitan areas in the country.

Brazilian table tennis player Hugo Calderano is the new world No. 2 following the latest update of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings on Monday (Feb. 9). In addition to reaching the highest position of his career, Calderano became the first South American athlete to hold this ranking in a sport traditionally dominated by Asian and European players. The top spot remains with Chinese player C.Q. Wang.

“It is a great pride for me to take Brazil to yet another unprecedented place in the history of table tennis. This achievement is the result of an incredible season - the best of my career so far. The year is just beginning, and I hope to achieve even greater results,” Calderano said in a statement to the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation (CBTM).

Notícias relacionadas:

• Calderano wins table tennis Americas Cup and secures spot in Macau.

Calderano began 2026 with a bronze medal at the WTT Star Contender in Doha, Qatar. Last season, the 26-year-old put together a string of outstanding results. In April, he climbed from fifth to third in the world rankings after winning the World Cup in Macau, China - a country with the most stars in the sport. A month later, he finished runner-up at the World Championships in Doha; until then, only Asian and European players had reached the final.

Currently ranked world No. 2, the Brazilian signed a contract last Friday (6) with FC Saarbrücken, a German club that competes in the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League. After nearly 10 years with TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, Calderano announced on social media that he will represent his new club in the 2026/27 season.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday (Feb. 9) that there will be no shortage of money for health research during his administration. While advocating multilateralism at an event held by the Butantan Institute, Lula also spoke about the partnership with China for vaccine production in Brazil and said he is not choosing the Asian country over the US.

“We are choosing what’s best for our country. If China agrees to partner with us in vaccine production and will produce the quantity we’re not yet able to produce, why not enter into an agreement with China?” he said.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Registration of Brazil’s dengue vaccine officially announced.
• COVID-19 still worrying five years after vaccination started in Brazil.

In São Paulo, the event marked the start of dengue vaccination for primary care health professionals across Brazil. The vaccine, which is produced entirely in Brazil, was developed by Butantan after more than 15 years of research funded by the federal government and the state government of São Paulo.

“As long as I am able to help, there will be no shortage of money for research, either at Butantan or any other research institute in this country,” he noted.
 

The goal is to protect 1.2 million workers on the front lines of Brazil’s national health care system, the SUS, against dengue fever. The expansion of vaccination to other groups, aged 15 to 59, starting with the oldest, is planned for the second half of this year as Butantan expands its production capacity.

Brazil’s Ministry of Health has been purchasing all available supplies, and it is expected that, based on a strategic partnership between Brazil and China, with the transfer of technology to WuXi Vaccines, production could increase 30-fold.

President Lula also spoke about fake news that attempts to discredit the importance of vaccination and stated that it is necessary to convince society to return to vaccination, “as it was in the past.”

“We have an obligation not to get discouraged, to campaign, to talk in schools, to have teachers talk, pastors and priests talk [in churches], politicians talk, until we convince people that getting vaccinated means avoiding the possibility that, at some point, nature [viruses and bacteria] could disrupt a person’s life,” he argued.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva congratulated António José Seguro on his victory in the Portuguese elections. On social media, Lula described the triumph as significant and called it a victory for democracy.

“An election that took place peacefully and represents the victory of democracy at such an important moment for Europe and the world. It also consolidates Portugal’s support for the Mercosur–European Union agreement,” Lula stated.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Mercosur–EU leaders sign agreement, defend multilateralism.
• Lula recalls coup attempt, says democracy must be protected.

In his post, he also said that Brazil will continue working in partnership with the president-elect and Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, to strengthen bilateral relations and promote multilateralism and sustainable development.

How the victory unfolded

The socialist António José Seguro was elected president of Portugal on Sunday (Feb. 8), surpassing three million votes. He defeated far-right candidate André Ventura in the second round.

The Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction – or BBNJ – came into force in January 2026, after two decades of international negotiations. Immediately after the text was finalized in March 2023, 145 countries signed the document that came to be known as the High Seas Treaty, including Brazil.

To come into effect, the accord needed ratification by at least 60 countries to become valid 120 days later. In Brazil, Congress approved the pact on December 16, 2025, but even before that, in September, 60 other countries had already confirmed their adherence.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil has new biodiversity conservation targets for 2030.
• Brazil to ratify High Seas Treaty by year’s end, Lula says.

As of the publication of this story, 84 countries had ratified the agreement, according to the global network of social organizations High Seas Alliance. But why does this international treaty on a common good outside the territories of countries arouse so much interest?

Ana Paula Prates, director of the Department of Ocean and Coastal Management at Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, says that although other international treaties establish rules for marine biodiversity conservation, they mainly cover national territories, while this is the first to comprehensively address international waters, which represent two-thirds of the planet’s oceans.

“This integrated approach was necessary because everything that happens in international waters also affects our jurisdictional waters – whether it’s biopiracy, the environmental impacts of enterprises such as deep-sea trawling, or even plastic,” she pointed out.

Living beings

With a total area of over 360 million km² and depths exceeding 10 km, the oceans play a key role in balancing the planet’s temperature. They produce more than half of the oxygen necessary for life and are home to a vast biodiversity. Approximately 64 percent of this enormous expanse comprises the high seas, beyond national jurisdictions.

“By getting to know it better and conducting environmental impact studies of human activities in this area, we have the possibility of improving the protection and conservation of this biodiversity, which is by far the most important for the maintenance of life on earth,” says Andrei Polejack, director of research and innovation at the National Institute for Oceanic Research (INPO), a social organization dedicated to ocean research and development.

The text of the High Seas Treaty deals with guidelines and global governance for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the high seas. It is based on four pillars:

• the creation of marine protected areas in international waters;
• assessment of economic activities in terms of environmental impact;
• the sharing of benefits from genetic resources; and
• technology transfer and capacity building.

In practice, any activity carried out on the high seas will be subject to the rules of the agreement, as the treaty is binding, thus becoming a legal obligation imposed on participating countries. “It will not be up to each country, each company, or their respective countries [to decide]. For example, deep-sea trawling – which is something that happens too often and no one knows where – will now have to be assessed jointly with these countries [that have joined the treaty],” Ana Paula Prates states.

To operate in these regions, the nations will also need to better understand the biodiversity on the high seas, through investments in science and technology such as deep-sea submersibles and genetic mapping of the fauna and the flora there.

Benefits

“We have a wonderful opportunity to find new resources for medicines, cosmetics, and other solutions. But this will have to be evaluated jointly, and the benefits will have to be shared among all ratifying countries. Similarly, another controversial issue that will have to be negotiated is the establishment of marine protected areas,” the representative of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment said.

The idea is that when there is doubt about the capacity to conserve and maintain the balance of a given ecosystem and the species in it, the region should be protected, with measures ranging from assessing the impacts of human activities to be carried out in the area to the creation of marine protected areas.

“This is a process that adopts some principles of international law, which are binding in this treaty – like the precautionary approach, which states that if we do not know exactly what the impact will be, then it is better to suspend activities,” Polejack noted.

High Seas COP

With the treaty now in force, only countries that have ratified it will be able to participate in the establishment of the institutions, operational rules, and processes necessary for the agreement to become operational. The first talks for the creation of these instruments are expected to take place at the Conferences of the Parties (COP) to the High Seas Treaty.

Even before this stage, when the agreement was signed by the countries interested in participating, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) set up a preparatory commission tasked with choosing a country to host the secretariat and other institutions – such as the scientific and technical body – as well as establishing the financial structure and rules for decision-making.

Two meetings were held in April and August 2025, and a third is scheduled to take place in March 2026 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. “At this [meeting], we will be able to decide where the secretariat will be located – which is already under dispute. Belgium has come forward, as have Chile and now China. All three are candidates. We should also set the date for the first COP,” Ana Paula Prates said.

Advantages

Still according to Polejack’s assessment, Brazil has much to contribute with all the diplomatic and scientific knowledge developed in other international treaties – such as those created at ECO92 in Rio de Janeiro, which deal with climate, biodiversity, and desertification. He also considers it important to hold debates on the social and collective interests of the people.

“This work must be based on scientific evidence and must consider the balance between the uses of this biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, on the high seas, but it must also distribute the benefits generated. So, there’s a huge number of details. It’s a complex agreement, and it really needs all voices together,” he concluded.

Brazil registered 84,760 cases of missing persons in 2025. This figure equates to 232 disappearances per day and is 4.1 percent higher than in 2024, when 81,406 disappearances were recorded.

Data from the National Public Security Information System (Sinesp) indicate that even the creation of the National Policy for the Search for Missing Persons in 2019 was unable to contain the escalation of the problem. That year, 81,306 cases were recorded, a figure 4.2 percent lower than the previous year.

Brazilian legislation establishes a set of guidelines and integrated actions aimed at expediting and coordinating the location of missing persons nationwide, with a focus on cooperation among security, healthcare, and social assistance agencies.

Since 2015, when 75,916 cases were recorded, the number of missing persons in Brazil declined only in 2020 (63,151) and 2021 (67,362). According to experts, this drop was due to COVID-19 restrictions, which, among other effects, made access to police stations more difficult and increased underreporting.

“There is a consensus that this temporary drop was caused by the pandemic, as people were required to stay at home,” Simone Rodrigues, coordinator of the Observatory of Missing Persons in Brazil (ObDes) at the University of Brasília (UnB), told Agência Brasil.

Missing persons located

The total number of people located has also been increasing since the beginning of this decade. In 2020, 37,561 people reported missing reappeared or were located. By 2025, this figure had risen to 56,688, an increase of 51 percent over the period and 2 percent compared to 2024, when 55,530 people were located.

Rodrigues pointed out that the progress reflects both the rising number of cases and improvements in search strategies and tools.

“I have seen greater commitment, especially in the past two years, to promoting data interoperability and communication between institutions [federal, state, and municipal],” said the lawyer, who holds a PhD in political science.

For her, official data do not account for the real complexity of the problem, as many disappearances are associated with unsolved crimes. One example is the recent case of real estate agent Daiane Alves de Souza, 43, in Caldas Novas, Goiás state.

Souza disappeared on December 17 last year, after being filmed in the elevator of the building where she lived. Her body was found on Wednesday, January 28, in a wooded area, in an advanced state of decomposition. The building’s superintendent, Cléber Rosa de Oliveira, accused of committing the crime along with his son, confessed to killing the real estate agent and indicated the location of her body.

“The dynamics of disappearance cases are complex and diverse. To understand them, it is necessary to consider the various forms of violence that are often involved, such as femicide, human trafficking, forced labor, LGBTQphobia, and the concealment of bodies,” Rodrigues said. She emphasized that, in many cases, relatives or acquaintances of the victims avoid or are unable to file a police report.

“In contexts involving the actions of militias or other criminal groups, for example, it is common for people close to the victims to fail to notify the authorities. Indigenous people also do not usually file police reports in these cases, nor do people experiencing homelessness. Therefore, even if surprising, the figures are not reliable, as there is underreporting,” Rodrigues added.

Minors

Just like the children who disappeared in Bacabal, Maranhão, on January 4, in a search that mobilized hundreds of people and drew nationwide attention, nearly a third (28%) of the people who disappeared in 2025 were under 18 years old. The 23,919 cases involving children and adolescents represent an 8 percent increase compared to the 22,092 disappearances of children and adolescents recorded in 2024 - double the overall average increase of 4 percent. However, compared to the 27,730 cases in 2019, the year the National Policy for the Search for Missing Persons came into effect, the most recent figure is 14 percent lower.

Another striking fact is that, while men account for 64 percent of all missing persons in 2025, among children and adolescents the majority of cases (62%) involve girls.

“Many of these children and adolescents are fleeing contexts of domestic violence, and in such cases state agents need to be sensitive enough not to expose them to those situations again. At the same time, they cannot generalize, because not all cases are the same,” the specialist explained.

National policy

The coordinator of the Observatory of Missing Persons in Brazil noted that the National Policy for the Search for Missing Persons was an important initial response to the problem, but after nearly seven years it is “still in its infancy” in the country.

“It is being implemented little by little, and it already needs adjustments. Just consider that the National Registry of Missing Persons, which is the heart of the policy, was only created in 2025 and has seen low participation from the states,” she commented.

According to the National Secretariat of Public Security (Senasp), records of disappearances and locations from 12 of Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District are integrated into the national registry, created seven years after the enactment of the National Policy for the Search for Missing Persons to support investigations and facilitate cross-referencing of information.

Improvements

When contacted for comment, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security acknowledged the underreporting in official records but noted that, precisely because of this, “the four percent increase compared to the previous year does not necessarily mean a real increase in cases,” it wrote in a note.

The ministry highlighted that classifying the different causes of disappearances is “a statistical challenge” that depends on “the meticulous investigation of each case of location and the rigorous standardization” of the information collected.

Furthermore, the note read that in recent years it has been working with states and the Federal District to strengthen the pillars of the National Policy for the Search for Missing Persons. These efforts include the launch of the National Registry of Missing Persons, the training of civil police officers, campaigns to collect genetic material (DNA) from relatives of missing persons, and public communication campaigns.

Regarding the fact that fewer than half of Brazilian states have joined the National Registry, the ministry stated it “expects to integrate the remaining states in the first half of 2026.”

Brazilian favelas are home to a predominantly young, black, working-class population with concrete plans for the future. At the same time, they face persistent structural challenges in areas ranging from education to security. This reality is highlighted in the Dreams of the Favela survey, conducted by Data Favela across Brazil’s five regions, with an emphasis on Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

The study is based on 4,471 responses collected from adults aged 18 and over, all residents of favelas, between December 11 and 16, 2025. The main objective is to invite the public and authorities to understand and address the neglect that affects life in favelas.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Factions, police operations traumatize favela residents.
• Rio faces deadliest police operation in recent years.

Dignity and basic well-being are among the main aspirations. When projecting the future of their families into 2026, the desire for a better home leads the plans (31%), followed by the pursuit of quality healthcare (22%), children’s entry into university (12%), and food security (10%).

“We believe that mapping the thoughts, experiences, and lives of favela residents is, above all, an act of recognition and reparation. Favela is not just a ‘problem’ or a ‘statistic.’ It is also a space where collective intelligence, culture, entrepreneurship, innovation, and genuine strategies for prosperity exist,” said Cléo Santana, co-president of Data Favela.

“Listening to those who live in the favela every day shifts the center of the narrative: it’s not just about ‘talking,’ but about building data with people based on what they consider urgent, possible, and necessary. This directly impacts how public policies are designed, how companies relate to these audiences, and how the press portrays the peripheries,” she added.

Sociodemographic profile

The majority of respondents are adults aged 30 to 49 (58%). Young people aged 18 to 29 account for 25 percent, while those aged 50 and over make up 17 percent. Approximately 60 percent are women, and 75 percent of all respondents identify as heterosexual.

Approximately 80 percent of residents identify as either dark brown (49%) or black (33%). White respondents account for 15 percent.

Regarding education levels, 8 percent have completed primary education; 35 percent, secondary education; 11 percent, higher education; and 5 percent, postgraduate studies.

About 60 percent earn up to one minimum wage (BRL 1,621) per month. Following that, 27 percent earn up to BRL 3,040, while 15 percent earn above BRL 3,040.

Around three in ten reported having a formal job, 34 percent are informally employed (including those without formal contracts and those doing odd jobs), 17 percent are unemployed, and 8 percent are outside the labor force (including retirees and students).

Overall, 56 percent of respondents stated they do not receive any type of government benefit, such as cooking gas aid, retirement or pension from the National Social Security Institute (INSS), the social electricity tariff, or unemployment insurance. Among those who receive a benefit, the most cited is the income transfer program Bolsa Família/Auxílio Brasil (29%).

Territorial Infrastructure

Concerning territorial infrastructure, residents were asked about the main changes they would like to see in their communities by 2026. The most frequent responses were basic sanitation (26%), education (22%), healthcare (20%), transportation (13%), and the environment (7%).

In terms of sports, leisure, and cultural options in their communities, 35 percent of respondents rated them as bad or very bad, while 32 percent described them as average.

Challenges of race and gender

Approximately 50 percent of respondents stated that skin color impacts job opportunities, while 43 percent said it does not.

The main challenge women face within the favela is domestic violence and femicide, according to seven out of ten respondents, followed by difficulties with employment and income (43%) and support with childcare (37%).

When asked which public policies they consider most urgent for women, the most frequent responses were job placement programs (62%), educational campaigns against sexism (44%), police stations and services with 24-hour assistance (43%), and women’s health care (39%).

Public security

Favela residents were also asked which institutions they trust to protect them from violence. Responses included the Military Police (27%), Civil Police (11%), and their favela’s faction (7%). The option with the most votes, however, was “none of them” (36%).

As for police presence in the favela, researchers note a significant silence: 24 percent chose not to answer, while 25 percent said it does not affect their sense of security. Another 13 percent reported feeling fear and insecurity due to police presence, whereas 22 percent feel safer with policing in the area.

“A symbolic finding of the research is that their greatest desire is to be able to come and go freely (47%), showing that the future is still conceived from a perspective of survival and fear. Research like this acts as a megaphone, amplifying a voice the favela already has,” explains Cléo Santana, co-president of Data Favela.

Petrobras has acquired a stake in an oil exploration block off the coast of Namibia, in southwestern Africa. The area is located in the Lüderitz Basin and covers approximately 11,000 square kilometers (km²).

The information was disclosed in a material fact, a statement that companies make to investors.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil’s oil and gas production grew 13.3% in 2025.

Brazil’s state-owned company states it acquired a 42.5-percent stake in the area, identified as Block 2613. French oil company TotalEnergies, Petrobras’ partner in oil production in Brazil, acquired another 42.5 percent.

Namcor Exploration and Production, a Namibian government-owned company, owns 10 percent, while Eight Offshore Investment Holdings holds five percent.

The stakes acquired by Petrobras and TotalEnergies were sold by Eight and Maravilla Oil & Gas.

The statement does not specify the purchase price. The company adds that the deal’s completion is still subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions – including government and regulatory approvals, notably from Namibia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy.

Search for reserves

Petrobras President Magda Chambriard points out that the new stake is part of the company’s efforts to rebuild its oil and gas reserves.

“We have been carefully evaluating areas that have shown good prospects both in Brazil and in other parts of the world,” she said, adding that the purchase marks the oil giant’s return to Namibia.

Petrobras Exploration Director Sylvia Anjos underscored the company’s knowledge of the geological formation of the exploratory basin.

“We have extensive geological knowledge of the region, which is largely analogous to our sedimentary basins. We are looking closely at the west coast of Africa and the good opportunities there. This was the case in São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa, and now Namibia,” she noted.

Africa

Petrobras is investing in the African continent with a view to increasing its current oil reserves, which are expected to start declining in the 2030s. 

Petrobras resumed operations on the African continent in 2024. On February 8 of that year, the company completed the acquisition of stakes in three exploration blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe, off the west coast of Africa. In two blocks, the stake is 45 percent; and in the third, 25 percent.

In October 2024, Petrobras’ board of directors approved operations in South Africa, enabling the acquisition of a stake in the Deep Western Orange Basin (DWOB) block through a competitive process conducted by TotalEnergies.

Americas

In addition to positions in Brazil and Africa, Petrobras has operations in South America and the US.

In Colombia, the state-owned company announced in December 2024 the discovery of the largest gas reserve in the country’s history. The giant Sirius-2 well – explored in a consortium with Ecopetrol, Colombia’s state-owned oil company – boasts a capacity equivalent to nearly half of Petrobras’ daily gas production in Brazil.

In Argentina, through its subsidiary Petrobras Operaciones S.A., the company holds a 33.6-percent stake in the Rio Neuquén production asset.

In Bolivia, the oil company produces gas mainly in the San Alberto and San Antonio fields, with a 35-percent stake in each of these service operation contracts, which are operated primarily to supply gas to Brazil and Bolivia.

In the US, operations take place in deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico, with a 20-percent stake held by Petrobras America Inc., forming the MPGoM joint venture with Murphy Exploration & Production Company.

The dissemination of fake content created with artificial intelligence (AI) more than tripled from 2024 to 2025 in Brazil, representing a 308-percent increase.

The data come from the first Panorama da Desinformação no Brasil (“Overview of Disinformation in Brazil”), an unprecedented study released Thursday (Feb. 5) by fact-checking agency Observatório Lupa that maps trends, targets, and the main tactics of disinformation.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil recommends X block sexualized content using Grok.
• Court: Social networks must be held accountable for illegal content.

The report shows that deepfakes and other AI-generated pieces of misinformation rose from 39 cases in 2024, representing 4.6 percent of the total checks carried out by observatory that year, to 159 in 2025, amounting to 25 percent of verifications. This equates to an increase of 120 cases.

According to the debut edition of the study, which will be annual, there is a structural change in the disinformation ecosystem.

The survey shows that, in 2024, AI was mainly used to create digital scams, such as deepfakes of celebrities advertising fraudulent websites, for instance. By 2025, the technology began to be used strategically as a political weapon – almost 45 percent of AI content had an ideological bias, compared to 33 percent in the previous year.

The observatory found that more than three-quarters of AI-generated content circulating in 2025 exploited the image or voice of well-known people, mainly political leaders. The survey points to 36 instances of fake content targeting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 33 targeting former President Jair Bolsonaro, and 30 targeting Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

According to the document, the use of WhatsApp for spreading misinformation plunged from almost 90 percent in 2024 to 46 percent in 2025. In the observatory’s view, this does not mean that fake news has decreased there, but rather that there is now a greater dispersion of platforms.

In addition to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and X – which were already popular – Kwai and Tiktok, both short video social networks, have also become more relevant in the dissemination of fakes.

For the sixth consecutive month since the Trump administration’s tariff increase, Brazilian exports to the United States have fallen. Sales to China, however, continued to rise, according to data released on Thursday (Feb. 5) in Brasília by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services.

In January, sales to the United States totaled USD 2.4 billion, a 25.5 percent decrease compared to USD 3.22 billion in the same month of 2025. Imports of US products fell 10.9 percent to USD 3.07 billion, resulting in a USD 670 million bilateral trade deficit for Brazil.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazilian trade balance records second-best January result.

This was the sixth consecutive decline in Brazilian sales to the US since the imposition of the 50 percent surcharge applied by the Donald Trump administration to Brazilian products in mid-2025. Although the tariff was partially revised at the end of last year, the ministry estimates that 22 percent of Brazilian exports are still subject to the extra rates, which vary between 40 percent and 50 percent.

In contrast to the United States, Brazil recorded positive results with China. Brazilian exports to the Asian country grew 17.4 percent in January, totaling USD 6.47 billion, compared to USD 5.51 billion a year earlier. Imports fell 4.9 percent to USD 5.75 billion, ensuring a surplus of USD 720 million for Brazil in the month.

Trade flow

China and the US are Brazil’s main trading partners. The trade flow - the sum of imports and exports - reached USD 12.23 billion, a 5.7 percent increase with China. Trade with the United States totaled USD 5.47 billion, an 18 percent decrease, reflecting reductions in both exports and imports.

The Brazilian trade balance registered the second-highest surplus for the month of January since records began in 1989, benefiting from a drop in imports, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) announced on Thursday (Feb. 5). Last month, exports exceeded imports by USD 4.342 billion, an increase of 85.8 percent compared to the surplus of USD 2.337 billion in the same month of 2025.

The January trade balance result is surpassed only by 2024, when the surplus reached USD 6.196 billion.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Lula submits Mercosur–EU trade agreement to Brazilian Congress.
• Brazilian industry blames interest rates for 2025 slowdown.

The value of exports and imports:
Exports: USD 25.153 billion, a 1 percent decrease compared to January last year;
Imports: USD 20.810 billion, a 9.8 percent decrease in the same period.

The value of exports is the third highest for the month of January since records began in 1989, surpassed only by January 2024 and 2025. Imports registered the second-highest January on record, surpassed only by the same month last year.

Sectors

In the distribution by economic sectors, exports in January varied as follows:

• Agriculture: 2.1 percent, with a 3.4 percent decrease in volume and a 5.3 percent increase in average price;
• Extractive industry: minus 3.4 percent, with a 6.2 percent increase in volume and a 9.1 percent decrease in average price;
• Manufacturing industry: minus 0.5 percent, with a 0.6 percent decrease in volume and a 0.1 percent decrease in average price.

Brazil reached a record number of 1,518 victims of femicide in 2025, the year in which the Femicide Law celebrated its 10th anniversary. The figures were released from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

In the previous year, 2024, the country had reached a record high with 1,458 victims.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Fight against femicide should be led by men, Lula says.
• Brazil unveils pact to tackle femicide.

When it first came into force, the law added the crime of homicide against women to Brazil’s Penal Code under domestic violence and discrimination.

“If [the increase in cases] is happening, it is due to the state’s failure to act, because this is a preventable crime,” said Samira Bueno, executive director of the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP), during the launch of the Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) annual report on Wednesday (Feb. 4).

The document, which looks at the human rights situation in over 100 countries, highlights domestic and gender-based violence as one of the most frequent violations in Brazil.

According to Bueno, this omission affects all spheres of power.

“In Brazil today, we are experiencing the de-funding of these policies at the municipal and state levels, which are the actors involved in the protection network, covering social work, health care, and the police at its disposal to really make a difference in the lives of these girls and women,” she noted.

Samira Bueno further pointed out that public policies to protect the lives of girls and women cannot be implemented without human as well as financial resources.

“This is a cause that many politicians like to champion – the defense of the lives of girls and women – but when they have the power to make decisions, when they sit in their chairs and have the ability to make a difference, the budget is not there,” she argued.

A pact against femicide

On Wednesday (4), in a joint initiative, the Brazilian government, the National Congress, and the Judiciary launched the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide.

The plan outlines coordinated and permanent action between the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil.

The strategy also includes the website TodosPorTodas.br, which should gather information about the pact, publicize planned actions, present reporting channels and public policies for the protection of women, and encourage the engagement of public institutions, private companies, and society.

Eve Air Mobility, an Embraer subsidiary that develops electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced the sale of two vehicles to the Japanese company AirX, which operates in air transport and currently uses helicopters. The contract may be expanded, as it includes an option to purchase up to 50 units.

With deliveries scheduled for 2029 and operations planned in Tokyo and Osaka as last-mile vehicles for tourist routes, the sale marks the company’s first in the Asia-Pacific region. Embraer and Eve are participating in the Singapore Airshow, one of the largest trade fairs in the sector.

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• New electric car factory shows confidence in Brazil, says Lula.
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“We are excited to partner with Eve Air Mobility to bring next-generation air transport to Japan,” said Kiwamu Tezuka, founder and CEO of AirX, in an official statement announcing the agreement.

For him, this collaboration reinforces the commitment to sustainability and innovation, in addition to positioning AirX at the forefront of the evolving air mobility market.

With the announcement, the company’s shares on the B3 interrupted their downward trend. Launched in July 2025 at BRL 39 per share, they ended trading on Wednesday (Feb. 4) at BRL 19.80. On Tuesday (3), they were traded at BRL 19.62, matching the lowest value recorded on September 17. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the company’s shares have been falling since January 22, when they were quoted at USD 4.59. On Tuesday, they closed at USD 3.65.

While signing the decree establishing the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide on Wednesday (Feb. 4), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva argued that combating femicide and all forms of violence against women should be the responsibility of society – but above all of men.

“It’s not enough not to be an aggressor. We must also fight to ensure there are no more attacks. Every man in this country has a mission to fulfill,” he said during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazilian Feminicide Law turns 10, impunity still a challenge.
• Brazil unveils pact to tackle femicide.

The pact outlines coordinated and permanent action among the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil. The novelty, Lula said, is that for the first time they are assuming that the responsibility for defending women is not only women’s.

“We’re telling the Brazilian trade union movement that this is a topic for factory gates and workers’ assemblies. We’re telling congressmen and congresswomen that this is a topic for all their speeches,” he said.

“We’re trying to raise awareness among children, because it’s the duty of our teachers, as it’s a topic that spans from nursery school to university. This is an opportunity to create a new civilization, a civilization in which it’s not gender that makes the difference, but rather behavior and respect,” he added.

The ceremony was opened by First Lady Janja da Silva. She read a story narrated by a woman who was assaulted by her boyfriend, beaten in public, but who did not get help from people who witnessed the assault.

“We are all committed to creating a society where women can live in peace. We want you, men, in this fight, by our side,” she said.

Brazilian judiciary and legislative

Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin, argued that the changes should not be limited to the letter of the law. “We must act on several fronts to prevent, hold accountable, and protect [women],” he declared.

“Changing the law is important, but it is not enough. Changing the law must be accompanied by a change of hearts and minds in the state, in society, and most importantly, in families. This change begins when we start to act,” he went on to say.

The judiciary, he pointed out, signed this pact “with a sense of urgency and hope, committing itself fully to the initiative.” “True peace is not born of fear and silence, but flourishes when there is protection, freedom, and dignity,” he concluded.

Lower house speaker Hugo Motta noted that Brazil ended 2025 with an average of four women murdered per day.

“It is inconceivable that we allow these numbers to continue. This action [as outlined in the pact] cannot be delayed,” he said, stating that the legislative branch will work to toughen laws in order to punish “those who act in this way, through violence against women.”

“You can count on our priority in this agenda to change this reality,” he concluded.

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said that Brazilian institutions are united in purposes such as this. “Femicide is not just statistics, but an open wound in Brazilian society,” which needs to be treated as a problem of the state, not of the government.

“[Femicide] is the cruelest side of violence that affects the lives of thousands every day. And the pact is, above all, a commitment between institutions and a declaration of responsibility by the Brazilian state, which reaffirms one of its fundamental duties to combat femicide with the utmost rigor, with absolute priority, and with permanent action,” he stated.

The Brazilian government, the National Congress, and the Judiciary on Wednesday (Feb. 4) launched an initiative dubbed the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide.

The plan outlines coordinated and permanent action between the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazilian Feminicide Law turns 10, impunity still a challenge.

The agreement recognizes that violence against women in the country is a structural crisis that cannot be addressed by isolated efforts.

A campaign guided by the slogan Todos Juntos por Todas (“Everyone together for the women”) was also launched, calling on society as a whole to take an active role in combating violence.

Objectives

Among the objectives of the pact are to accelerate the implementation of protective measures, strengthen networks to combat violence throughout Brazil, expand educational initiatives, and hold perpetrators accountable, thereby combating impunity.

The agreement also envisages commitments aimed at transforming the institutional culture of the three branches of government, promoting equal treatment between men and women, combating structural sexism, and incorporating responses to new challenges, such as digital violence against women.

The strategy also includes the website TodosPorTodas.br, which will gather information about the pact, publicize planned actions, present reporting channels and public policies for the protection of women, and encourage the engagement of public institutions, private companies, and society.

The platform will provide a downloadable guide with information on different types of violence, policies to combat it, and practical guidelines for responsible communication, in line with the commitment to save lives.

Committee

The pact also stipulates the creation of an Inter-institutional Management Committee, coordinated by the Brazilian president’s office. The committee should bring together representatives from the three branches of government, with permanent participation from prosecutors and public defenders, ensuring continuous monitoring, federal coordination, and transparency.

Numbers

Data from the judicial system show that, in 2025, the Brazilian courts tried an average of 42 cases of femicide per day, totaling 15,453 trials – a 17-percent increase over the previous year.

In the same period, 621,202 protective measures were granted, equivalent to 70 measures per hour, as per figures from the National Council of Justice.

Ligue 180, the women’s assistance hotline, recorded an average of 425 complaints per day in 2025.

Changes

Below are the main changes planned by the government with the new pact:

• Faster protective measures that really work – less time between reporting and effective protection for women. The idea is that judicial decisions, police, social services, and shelters will act in a coordinated manner, without buck-passing.
   
• Three branches of government looking at the same case – the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as oversight bodies, share information and monitor cases in an integrated manner, from the request for help all the way to the outcome, reducing failures that currently put women at risk.
   
• More prevention before violence turns into death – ongoing campaigns, rights education, training for public officials, and actions to change the culture of violence – including involving men as part of the solution.
   
• Faster accountability for perpetrators – swifter proceedings, less impunity, and firmer responses to those who violate protective measures or commit violence.
   
• Special attention to those most at risk – focus on black, indigenous, and quilombola women, women in the periphery and rural areas, women with disabilities, young and elderly women, and women living in remote or more vulnerable areas.
   
• Response to new forms of violence – tackling digital violence, such as harassment, threats, and online exposure, which often precede physical assaults.
   
• Public reporting of results – periodic reports, targets, and accountability.

The high Selic rate - the economy’s basic interest rate - was the main reason for industrial stagnation in Brazil at the end of 2025, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) said, commenting on the Monthly Industrial Survey released Tuesday (Feb. 3) by the Brazilian statistics agency IBGE.

According to the entity, the cycle of high interest rates, currently at 15 percent per year, has made credit more expensive and dampened consumer appetite. The situation has been worsened by weak domestic demand and rising imports, which captured a significant share of the Brazilian market, the CNI argues.

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Mário Sérgio Telles, Director of Economics at CNI, described the damage caused by interest rates as “enormous.”

“The punitive level of the Selic rate has made credit more expensive for the productive sector, holding back investments, and has reduced consumer appetite for industrial products. The damage caused by high interest rates is enormous. In 2024, with a lower Selic rate, domestic demand for manufacturing goods grew four times faster than the demand recorded up to November 2025,” Telles emphasized in a statement.

This weakening, the CNI director highlighted, led to higher-than-planned inventories and a 0.2 percent decline in manufacturing output, which involves converting raw materials into consumer goods.

The confederation’s analysis also warns of external pressure: purchases of consumer goods abroad jumped 15.6 percent last year. While national industry slowed, imported products filled the gaps, hindering any attempt at recovery by local businesses throughout both semesters of 2025.

Decline in confidence

This combined effect severely impacted the Industrial Entrepreneur Confidence Index (ICEI), released at the end of January, which recorded its worst January performance in ten years. With the indicator below 50 points - the threshold separating optimism from pessimism - for 13 consecutive months, the National Confederation of Industry diagnoses a persistent lack of confidence, which is paralyzing essential investments in the modernization and expansion of Brazilian factories.

According to CNI, without a change in interest rate policy and measures to stimulate domestic demand, this year’s growth is at risk. The organization warns that continued productive inertia and weak hiring intentions could harm not only the manufacturing industry but the performance of the entire national economy in the short term.

The IBGE survey confirmed the sector’s loss of momentum. Industrial production ended 2025 with growth of just 0.6 percent, a modest result compared with the 3.1 percent expansion recorded in 2024. The official survey notes that the slowdown intensified in the second half of the year, coinciding with monetary tightening.

World champion in 2025, Brazilian Henrique Marques was elected the best male athlete in the world in taekwondo last season. The award from the martial art’s international federation, World Taekwondo, was presented to the fighter during a ceremony in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on Monday (Feb. 2). In addition to the trophy, Marques became the first Brazilian to be honored by the entity, which created the accolade 12 years ago.

“Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that all this would come true [to me], a young black man born into a poor family and raised in a slum. Today, he has come to be recognized as the best in the world at what he does!” the 21-year-old athlete posted on social media.

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Born in Itaboraí, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, the athlete won six medals in 2025, four of them gold. In October, he won Brazil’s first-ever title at the World Championships in Wuxi, China, in the men’s 80 kg category – a victory that propelled him to the top of the rankings. Henrique also won gold at the Rio Open, the Presidents Cup in Lima, Peru, and the Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand.

Henrique Marques’ peak last season was the result of his persistence and dedication. In 2023, Henrique Marques was about to represent Brazil at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, when he was surprised with a diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia during an exam right before departing. After undergoing surgery, he spent five months away from the mats to recover.

Back in training, Henrique secured a spot in April for the Paris Olympics. Before the start of the Games, his father passed away. Still grieving, the Brazilian star competed in Paris 2024 until he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Brazil’s Superior Military Court received on Tuesday (Feb. 3) a request from the Military Prosecutor’s Office to expel former President Jair Bolsonaro, three Army generals, and a Navy admiral from the Armed Forces following their conviction in the criminal case related to the coup plot.

The office filed actions seeking the loss of officer rank against Bolsonaro, a reserve Army captain, and reserve generals Augusto Heleno, Paulo Sergio Nogueira, Braga Netto, and Admiral Almir Garnier. All were convicted by the Supreme Court in the criminal case involving the core organizers of the coup plot.

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• Brazil bigger than coup plotters, Lula says at Supreme Court ceremony.
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The measure by the Military Prosecutor’s Office came after the Supreme Court issued the final judgment of the convictions last year, ending the possibility of appeal and ordering the imprisonment of the former president and the other convicts.

According to the Constitution, an officer of the Armed Forces can be expelled following a criminal conviction with a sentence exceeding two years in prison. In the coup plot trial, Bolsonaro and the other defendants received sentences ranging from 19 to 27 years.

If the Superior Military Court decrees the loss of rank, the salaries Bolsonaro and the other military personnel receive will be transferred to their wives or daughters as a pension. This benefit, known as “fictitious death,” has been provided for in Armed Forces legislation since 1960.

The court is composed of 15 ministers: five civilians and ten military personnel, representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Judgment

At a press conference, the president of the Superior Military Court, Maria Elisabeth Rocha, explained that the court has no legal deadline for judging the cases.

She said she will schedule the cases for judgment immediately after the rapporteurs release them. According to the internal rules, the president votes only in the event of a tie and always in favor of the defendant in cases involving the loss of officer rank.

“I do not intend to delay the judgment of such important issues submitted to the consideration of this court,” Rocha stated.