Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — After 10 straight days of hiccups, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to a hospital Wednesday with an intestinal obstruction, but doctors said they would not operate immediately.

Bolsonaro, 66, was admitted to the Armed Forces Hospital in the capital of Brasilia in the morning and was “feeling well,” according to an initial statement that said physicians were examining his persistent hiccups.

BRASILIA, Jul 14 (NNN-CMA) – Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, signed into law yesterday, a bill approved by Congress, that paves the way for the privatisation of state-owned electric utility company Eletrobras, according to the country’s Official Gazette.

Among other measures, the regulatory framework will include the issuance of new Eletrobras shares, to be sold on the private market, with the government waiving its subscription right, which will lead to the diluting of its current 61 percent stake in the company.

BRASILIA, July 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s disapproval rating passed 50 percent for the first time, according to a poll published by the Datafolha Institute, marking a new low in the far-right leader’s declining popularity.

Bolsonaro’s gap to former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of next year’s elections also increased from 18 to 21 percentage points.

BRASILIA, July 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco on Friday vehemently rejected any speculation that the 2022 presidential election may not take place, insisting that the constitution will be upheld and the wishes and expectations of the Brazilian people will be met.

Speaking to reporters in the Senate, Pacheco was responding to comments made by President Jair Bolsonaro earlier in the week that he may not accept the result of the election unless the voting system is changed.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s presidential election is 15 months away, yet barely a day passes without President Jair Bolsonaro raising the specter of fraud and warning that he will be entitled to reject the results unless Congress overhauls the voting system.

He has mentioned potential vote fraud more than 20 times in the past two months and even floated the idea of canceling the election altogether.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Protests against President Jair Bolsonaro spread across Brazil on Saturday, a day after a Supreme Court justice authorized a criminal investigation into his response to allegations of potential corruption involving a vaccine deal.

Demonstrators gathered by the thousands in more than 40 cities to demand Bolsonaro’s impeachment or greater access to vaccines against COVID-19.

BRASILIA, July 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's prosecutor general has requested an investigation of President Jair Bolsonaro over his conduct in negotiations to acquire an Indian COVID-19 vaccine, which has been steeped in scandal, according to a copy of the request seen by Reuters.

The request from the prosecutor will have to be approved by Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber and comes in response to a request from senators. The senators asked for an investigation over alleged corruption in the acquisition of vaccines.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s president is sending troops back to the Amazon to bolster policing against logging and other illegal land clearance, acting amid international criticism of a surge in deforestation and just two months after withdrawing a similar military mission.

BRASÍLIA, June 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A magistrate on Brazil’s Supreme Court annulled two more cases against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that had been brought by former judge Sergio Moro, who had previously been deemed by the same court to have been “biased” in convicting and jailing the iconic leftist leader.

The latest ruling invalidates all the evidence collected by Moro, meaning the trial process will have to start again from scratch.

BRASILIA, June 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s controversial environment minister, Ricardo Salles, announced his resignation on Wednesday, just over a month after the Supreme Court ordered an investigation into allegations he was involved in a timber trafficking scheme.

“I have presented my resignation to the president, which he accepted,” Salles, 46, told a news conference at the presidential palace in Brasilia.