Brazil opened 4.6 million new small businesses from January to November 2025, a number that already exceeds the result for 2024, when 4.1 million companies were created. The data show a 19 percent increase over the same period last year, consolidating the best performance since they began to be compiled.

Small businesses accounted for 97 percent of the companies opened in the country in 2025. Among them, 77 percent are individual microentrepreneurs (MEI), 19 percent are microenterprises, and 4 percent are small businesses.

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The head of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), Décio Lima, says that the growth reflects entrepreneurs’ confidence in the economic scenario. According to him, the country is experiencing “full employment and inflation under control,” factors that encourage the opening of new businesses.

“Sixty percent of Brazilians dream of becoming entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is a gateway to inclusion, job creation, and income,” he said.

In November, the country registered the opening of 350,000 new small businesses, 28,000 more than in the same month in 2024.

Services lead new registrations

The service sector accounted for 64 percent of new businesses opened through November. In this segment, the opening of MEIs grew 24.5 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Next came commerce, with 21 percent of the total, and industry, with 7 percent.

São Paulo (29%), Minas Gerais (11%), and Rio de Janeiro (8%) were the states with the highest number of small business openings in 2025.

Brazil recorded its best results in income, inequality, and poverty since this time series began in 1995, according to a technical note from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea). The study was released this Tuesday (Nov. 25) with data from the Brazilian government’s statistics agency, IBGE.

Over 30 years, per capita household income grew by about 70 percent, the Gini coefficient fell by nearly 18 percent, and the extreme poverty rate dropped from 25 percent to less than 5 percent.

Progress was uneven, concentrated between 2003 and 2014, and then resumed strongly between 2021 and 2024. After a prolonged cycle of crises between 2014 and 2021 – marked by recession, slow recovery, and the severe impact of the pandemic – per capita income reached its lowest level in a decade.

The trajectory changed from 2021 onwards: in three consecutive years, average income grew by more than 25 percent in real terms, accompanied by a significant drop in inequality.

“The results show that it is possible to intensely reduce poverty and inequality, but that these movements can also be interrupted or even reversed by various factors. And that it is important to combine different means to achieve these fundamental national objectives,” highlighted Marcos Dantas Hecksher, one of the authors of the study.

Researchers attribute the recent improvement to a booming labor market and the expansion of income transfers, both responsible for almost half of the reduction in inequality and the fall in extreme poverty between 2021 and 2024.

Programs such as Bolsa Família income transfer program, Benefício de Prestação Continuada (Continuous Cash Benefit - BPC), Auxílio Brasil (Brazil Aid), and Auxílio Emergencial (Emergency Aid) became more effective after 2020.

However, the impact of transfers weakened in 2023 and 2024 with the end of the expansion cycle, while the labor market continued to exert a strong influence on social indicators.

“Inequalities need to be combated through all public policies - not only through better targeting of social spending to the poorest, but also through a fairer distribution of taxes,” said Hecksher.

In 2024, the country recorded the lowest poverty levels in the series, yet 4.8 percent of the population lived below the extreme poverty line (USD 3 per day) and 26.8 percent below the poverty line (USD 8.30 per day).

More than 60 percent of the reduction in extreme poverty between 2021 and 2024 resulted from improved income distribution, according to the study’s breakdown.

The technical note points out that the progress observed in the post-pandemic period is likely to lose momentum with the end of the expansion of social welfare policies, making the labor market even more decisive in the coming years.

The authors warn that household surveys tend to underestimate very high incomes and some social transfers, requiring caution when interpreting the results.

The document concludes that the recent period represents an important structural change: after years of stagnation or regression, income, inequality, and poverty indicators have all improved simultaneously and rapidly.

Unanimously, the justices of the First Panel of the Brazilian Supreme Court decided this Tuesday (Nov. 25) to ratify the decisions of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, which ordered the execution of the sentences of Jair Bolsonaro and six other defendants for the coup plot that sought to keep the former president in power, even after he lost the 2022 elections.

After signing the arrest warrants, Moraes convened a virtual session to judge the case. The panel reached a four-to-zero vote to uphold the arrests. In addition to Moraes, the votes were cast by Justices Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, and Cármen Lúcia.

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The top officials of former President Bolsonaro’s government were convicted of the following crimes:

• Armed criminal organization,
• Attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law,
• Coup d’état,
• Damage aggravated by violence and serious threat, and
• Deterioration of listed heritage.

Earlier, Alexandre de Moraes recognized the final judgment of the case after the deadline for the defendants’ defense to file new appeals, which ended on Monday (24).

On the afternoon of this Wednesday (26), six defendants who are already detained will undergo custody hearings. These will be held by videoconference in the locations where they are serving their sentences. The proceedings will be conducted by auxiliary judges of Alexandre de Moraes and will serve to fulfill legal formalities.

Execution of sentences

With the procedural phase now concluded, Moraes ordered the execution of the sentences to begin. Below are the sentences and the locations where they are being served:

Jair Bolsonaro – former president of Brazil: 27 years and three months
Place of imprisonment: Federal Police Headquarters in Brasília.

Walter Braga Netto – former minister under Bolsonaro and vice-presidential candidate on the 2022 ticket: 26 years
Place of imprisonment: Military District in Rio de Janeiro.

Almir Garnier – former commander of the Navy: 24 years
Place of imprisonment: Navy facilities in Brasília.

Anderson Torres – former Minister of Justice and former Secretary of Security of the Federal District: 24 years;
Place of imprisonment: 19th Military Police Battalion of the Federal District, located in the Papuda Penitentiary Complex in Brasília.

Augusto Heleno – former Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet: 21 years;
Place of imprisonment: Planalto Military Command in Brasília.

Paulo Sérgio Nogueira – former Minister of Defense: 19 years;
Place of imprisonment: Planalto Military Command in Brasília.

Alexandre Ramagem – former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency: 16 years, one month, and 15 days.
He is a fugitive in Miami, in the United States. The arrest warrant will be included in the National Prison Monitoring Database.

Jair Bolsonaro

Former President Jair Bolsonaro had already been in preventive detention at the Federal Police headquarters since Saturday (22) for attempting to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor.

Since August 4, the former president had been under house arrest, imposed as part of another investigation into the United States’ tariff hike on Brazilian exports, a separate case in which he is also under investigation.

After his custody hearing, the former president confessed to using a soldering iron to tamper with the device and said he had a breakdown caused by medication.

With the declaration of final judgment, Bolsonaro’s imprisonment will become definitive rather than preventive. 

Defense

The defense teams of the former president and the other defendants commented on the order to execute the sentences. See their statements below:

Jair Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro’s lawyers said they were surprised by the immediate execution of the sentence and argued that he still has the right to file another appeal.
According to the defense team, the Supreme Court’s internal regulations provide for the possibility of filing dissenting opinions.

Braga Netto
Lawyer José Luis Oliveira said that the defense received the decision to execute the sentences with indignation. Oliveira reiterated that the general’s conviction is “absolutely unjust and contrary to the evidence in the case.”
“Unfortunately, we see that the process is ending as it began: with the systematic violation of the right to defense,” Oliveira stated.

Augusto Heleno
Lawyer Mateus Milanez stated that the defense expresses profound indignation and affirmed that the process has deviated from its purpose due to political influence.
“Faced with illegality and persecution, our fight for the annulment of this flawed process and for the formal recognition of his innocence will be tireless and uncompromising.”

Anderson Torres
The former minister’s defense said it received the decision to execute the sentence with “serenity.” Lawyer Eumar Novacki reiterated that Torres had no involvement in the coup plot.
“He regrets that the numerous pieces of evidence showing he was not involved, directly or indirectly, in any attempted coup d’état were not even considered in the decision that sentenced him to a very harsh 24-year prison term,” the defense stated.

Paulo Sergio
The general’s defense said it received the decision to execute the sentences with “deep indignation.” According to lawyer Andrew Fernandes, the appeals he filed in the case were not dilatory.
“The motions for clarification were not dilatory. The defense’s acquittal arguments were not even considered, and what is most alarming is that part of the sentence lacks the necessary justification and proportionality. The motions for clarification were filed precisely to address these flaws,” Fernandes stated.

The news report is attempting to reach Admiral Almir Garnier’s defense team for comment.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro was taken to the Federal Police Headquarters in Brasília this Saturday (Nov. 22) after using a soldering iron in an attempt to remove his electronic ankle monitor. He was under house arrest and being monitored.

Because of the infraction and other evidence suggesting an intention to flee, Bolsonaro will now serve pre-trial detention in a 12-square-meter cell. He will appear at a custody hearing this Sunday (23).

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Information about the attempt to break the ankle monitor appears in a report from the State Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration of the Federal District (Seap), sent to the Supreme Court along with a video in which Bolsonaro himself admits to the damage.

“[It was] curiosity,” he said, noting that the attempt to remove the device occurred late Friday afternoon (21).

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the preventive detention and lifted the secrecy surrounding the Seap report and video. He gave Bolsonaro’s defense 24 hours to respond regarding the attempt to tamper with the ankle monitor.

“The device showed clear and significant signs of damage. There were burn marks around its entire circumference, at the point where the case was attached. During the analysis, the monitored individual was asked about the tool used. In response, he stated that he had used a soldering iron to try to remove the device,” the report states.

The ankle monitor was then replaced with a new device.

On Friday, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Liberal Party – Rio de Janeiro) used social media to call for a prayer vigil near the house where his father, Jair Bolsonaro, had been under house arrest since August 4.

In the decision ordering preventive detention, Justice Alexandre de Moraes cites the violation of the ankle monitor and says that the meeting could cause unrest and even facilitate “a possible escape attempt by the defendant.”

Sentenced to 27 years and three months in the coup-plot criminal case, Bolsonaro and the other defendants may begin serving their sentences in the coming weeks.

Last week, the First Panel of the Court rejected the so-called motions for clarification filed by the former president and six other defendants, which sought to overturn the convictions and prevent the execution of the sentences in a closed regime.

This Sunday (23) marks the deadline for the defense to submit its final appeals. If the appeals are rejected, the arrests will be carried out.

The former president’s defense requested, on Friday, the granting of humanitarian house arrest for Jair Bolsonaro, but Moraes rejected the request on Saturday. According to his lawyers, Bolsonaro has permanent illnesses that require “intense medical monitoring,” and for this reason they argue that he should remain under house arrest.

Regarding Saturday’s preventive detention, the defense says it will appeal the decision.

Bolsonaro was under house arrest due to non-compliance with precautionary measures previously established by the Supreme Court. These measures stem from the investigation in which federal representative Eduardo Bolsonaro (Liberal Party – São Paulo), the former president’s son, is being investigated for his actions with the government of US President Donald Trump to promote retaliatory measures against the Brazilian government and Supreme Court justices.

The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) ended on Saturday (Nov. 22), with the Brazilian presidency highlighting advances in the adaptation agenda, new international climate-implementation tools, and pathways for debating how to end dependence on fossil fuels.

In a press conference after the end of negotiations, COP30 President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment Ana Toni, Chief Negotiator Liliam Chagas, and Minister of the Environment Marina Silva detailed the results.

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Corrêa do Lago recalled that the conference began under strong negotiating pressure and with expanded autonomy for the co-directors. He noted that the adaptation package, one of the most complex at the COP, started with more than 100 indicators and was finalized with 59.

“There was consensus on only 10 percent of these indicators. We reorganized the metrics and will continue discussions in June in Bonn (at the Climate Conference in Germany),” said the ambassador.

In the energy debate, Corrêa do Lago said there were “two ways to move forward” in developing the roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, a sensitive issue since Dubai.

“As a diplomat, I saw a more conservative version. But President Lula’s speech put the issue at the center and opened space to make it a structuring agenda,” he said.

According to him, even without consensus, the Brazilian presidency will continue to debate the issue and gather research and actions capable of indicating a pathway for countries to move away from fossil fuels.

Consensus

Executive Secretary Ana Toni emphasized that COP30 achieved “consensus on such a difficult issue” and moved forward with a concrete implementation agenda, without any country giving up on the agenda involving the Paris Agreement.

The economist highlighted the presentation of 120 acceleration plans in commercial fuels, carbon, and green industry, in addition to the 29 documents approved.

“Small and large steps have been taken in difficult geopolitical times. We did not take all the steps we wanted, but we took firm steps,” Toni stated.

She noted that one of the main legacies was taking adaptation “to another level, above any other COP,” including the effort to triple international financing by 2035.

Toni also highlighted the unprecedented inclusion of women and girls of African descent in the climate agenda and the strengthening of the ocean agenda.

Trade

Chief negotiator Lilian Chagas believes that vulnerable countries have managed to join forces. According to her, the set of indicators approved will serve as a compass to measure progress and guide policies. “This will mark how each country has advanced and how to proceed,” Chagas added.

She also announced the strengthening of the Global Climate Action Accelerator, which will serve as a permanent space to promote concrete measures outside the formal negotiation track.

Another advance was the creation of an international forum to address the link between trade and climate. “It is a space to explore how trade can generate climate action, a topic of great interest to Brazil,” Chagas noted.

Liliam Chagas also highlighted important policy innovations, including the recognition of Afro-descendant groups as vulnerable, the strengthened role of indigenous lands as protectors of carbon sinks, and the inclusion of representatives from local communities in the process, the result of efforts carried out outside the official track.

Fossil fuels

Commenting on the process, Minister of the Environment Marina Silva noted that President Lula’s public stance strengthened the mitigation agenda and made it possible to integrate it with adaptation.

“We cannot adapt indefinitely, but it is impossible to think only about mitigation without considering the needs of vulnerable people who require financial resources, technological resources, and, above all, solidarity to be able to cope with the great hardships and suffering they are already experiencing,” Silva pointed out.

The minister noted that wealthy countries already have their own paths for phasing out fossil fuels, while poor, developing, or oil-dependent countries do not. She therefore stressed the importance of creating conditions for “these countries to build their foundations after more than 30 years of waiting for answers on how to break their dependence on fossil fuels.”

She also noted that the work includes the transition toward ending deforestation: “Only Brazil has this goal and its roadmap, but we want everyone to have the foundations to make these efforts.”

Silva also highlighted the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a financial mechanism that moves beyond a donation-based model and creates ways for public resources invested in protecting forests and biodiversity to leverage private investment.

Legacy

When asked by journalists about the legacy of COP30, Silva said the conference broadened public understanding of climate change. She also highlighted contributions to the debate drawn from the knowledge and experience of Amazonian populations, who face isolation, logistical challenges, and limited access to food, water, and medicine.

“The Amazon not only receives a legacy, but offers a legacy,” the minister emphasized.

“We offered the best we had, and the best we had were our landscapes, our acoustic, visual, and pictorial beauties. The Amazon is an explosion of life and beauty that becomes a distraction whenever we look elsewhere,” said Silva.