Brazil

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plan to help Brazilians escape the record amounts of debt they amassed during the pandemic remains well short of its targets as it approaches its March 31 expiration, denting his efforts to unleash consumer spending and boost growth in Latin America’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. Desenrola, as the program is known, was expected to help as many as 70 million people, including 30 million with lower incomes and smaller debts.

Brazil's Finance Ministry is expected to present a proposal on debt service for states that represents a middle ground in the debate amid calls for reduced burdens, Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Brazil is putting the finishing touches on a rescue plan for its troubled airlines, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government confronts a challenge the US and Europe dealt with much sooner after the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The package, to be announced in coming days, will use public funds as collateral for loans to struggling carriers from the country’s development bank, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the plan is still in flux and it’s expected to be more of a band-aid solution than an industry cure-all.

Brazil's consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in February, reaching the highest monthly figure in one year driven by increased education prices, government statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Inflation, measured by the IPCA index, was at 0.83% last month compared with January. Education prices rose 4.98% in the month, responsible for 0.29 percentage points of the data as schools and universities hike tuition fees at the start of the year. Food and beverage prices also contributed to the results, IBGE said.

Agricultural powerhouse Brazil is harvesting one bumper crop after another. Yet, growers are going bankrupt at an alarming rate, dealing a blow to investors in the fast-growing $7 billion market for agribusiness funding, Bloomberg News reported. Tumbling corn and soybean prices are sparking defaults, undermining returns for so-called Fiagros, the Brazilian investment funds backed by agricultural receivables such as interest, dividends and land-lease payments.

Brazilian farmer bankruptcy requests shot through the roof in 2023, according to a new survey from data services company Serasa Experian, reflecting higher business risks for global grain traders in one of the world's biggest food producers, the New Straits Times reported. According to Serasa's data released on Thursday, there were 127 farmer bankruptcy filings last year, up 53 per cent from the year before.

The Brazilian airline Azul SA is working with Citigroup Inc. and Guggenheim Partners as it explores a potential offer for its troubled competitor Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Bloomberg News reported. Shares in both companies rallied. The companies are advising Azul as it weighs several options, including an outright acquisition of its rival. Azul still could decide to shelve the idea. Any offer would need approval from the country’s regulator — known as Cade.

A $1.2 billion credit line from the government expected as soon as this month will be key for Brazil’s troubled airlines as they lobby for lower jet fuel costs and for help clamping down on passenger litigation, Azul SA Chief Executive Officer John Peter Rodgerson said, Bloomberg News reported. Unlike in the U.S. and Europe, Latin American nations offered little rescue for the sector during the pandemic, leaving the region’s airlines to deal with the crisis on their own. Several buckled: Avianca Holdings SA, Latam Airlines Group SA and Grupo Aeromexico SAB filed for bankruptcy in 2020.

Bankrupt Brazilian airline Gol received U.S. court approval on Wednesday for a $1 billion loan, after resolving the concerns of a group of lenders that feared they would be sidelined by the new loan, Reuters reported. Gol had previously proposed borrowing $950 million in bankruptcy, but it allowed the objecting lenders to kick in an additional $50 million on the new loan and receive interest on that new debt, Gol's attorney Justin Cunningham said at a hearing in Manhattan.