International

Bolsonaro welfare plan shakes Brazil markets, sparks resignations

AFP

A proposal by Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to dramatically increase welfare payments to the country’s underprivileged groups a year ahead of elections shook markets Thursday and triggered resignations at the Ministry of Economy.

The program could cost the government an extra 30 billion reais ($5.3 billion dollars) at a time when inflation is already high and exceed the government spending ceiling established by law.

The government announced earlier this week that it was setting up a new social welfare program to replace the “Bolsa Familia” system created by the leftist administration of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The new program would start in November with a 20 percent increase in benefits paid to nearly 17 million Brazilians in need.

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Coming just a year before a presidential election in which Bolsonaro is widely expected to be defeated by Lula da Silva, the move was seen by several analysts as a pre-election sweetener.

The measure rattled investors. The Sao Paulo stock market fell 2.75 percent, while the price of the US dollar rose to 5.65 reais, its highest level in six months.

Concerned by the plan, several economic officials quit their posts, including top treasury officials Bruno Funchal and Jeferson Bittencourt, authorities said.

Bolsonaro denied that his project, whose source of funding has not been specified, is against the law.

“There are around 16 million people registered with the ‘Bolsa familia’, and though the financial aid reaches an average of 192 reais, many people receive 40, 50, 60 reais. What we are saying is: 400 reais for all,” he said Thursday.

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Bolsonaro also offered to “help” 750,000 truckers with compensation for increases in the price of diesel.

The president made the announcements at a time when his popularity is at its lowest level since he took office in 2019, and amid high inflation and high unemployment.

International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.