Brazilian Business Roundup - February 2

Welcome to your go-to source for the latest in Business and Tech across Brazil and Latin America! Each week, we bring you a curated roundup of the most intriguing stories, ensuring you stay informed and ahead of the curve.?

In just 5 minutes, you'll get a concise overview of the region's key developments, from groundbreaking tech innovations to pivotal business moves. Our mission is to provide you with valuable insights to drive smarter decisions and spark new ideas. Ready to dive into the highlights? Let's get started!

??Here’s our Top Stories:

????Pesticide clearances break record

New data from the Agriculture Ministry shows that Brazil cleared 663 pesticides for use last year, a new record. Before 2016, when center-left former President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and replaced by a right-wing administration, the number of pesticides cleared in a single year had only topped the mark of 200 once (202 in 2007). Since 2017, though, the total has never come in below 400 a year. Read more

?? One number to rule them all

Brazil's CPF has become the country's top individual identification number, but its ubiquitous use in retail raises a series of privacy concerns. Read more

??The Temu tsunami in Brazil

Temu, the international arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, rolled out Brazilian Portuguese versions of its website and app in mid-2024, allowing customers to shop in local currency and receive deliveries through Brazil’s Correios postal service. Within just six months, Temu rose to become Brazil’s second-largest e-commerce platform — or fourth, depending on the metric used. ? Read more

??Worth keeping an eye on!

??Data protection authority bars tech firm from paying for iris scans. Read more

??Lack of storage capacity haunts Brazilian farmers. Read more

???? ????With Trump’s second term, a new chapter in Brazil-US relations. Read more

?The remaining hurdles before hosting a COP in the Amazon. Read more

??#ChartsOfTheWeek: Brazilians living illegally in the US

Brazil's Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that it would demand explanations from Washington, DC over the “degrading treatment” of 88 Brazilian migrants deported from the United States and repatriated on a flight that landed in Brazil on Friday. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is set to meet with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira this morning to address the matter.

Driving the news. The deported Brazilians had their hands and feet shackled. Many complained of abusive treatment — such as physical violence, not being given water and not being allowed to use the bathroom during the flight.?

What they are saying. “The indiscriminate use of chains and handcuffs violates the terms of agreements with the US, which guarantee the humane, respectful and dignified treatment of individuals being repatriated,” Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

State of play. The US is home to the world’s largest population of Brazilians living abroad, around 1.9 million people. Of them, approximately 230,000 live undocumented, facing potential repercussions from Donald Trump’s promises to carry out mass deportations of illegal migrants.?

By the numbers. It should be noted that no US president deported more Brazilians than Joe Biden: almost 7,200, exceeding Donald Trump’s first term.

?? Why it matters. The issue of deportation flights will be the first test of Brazil-US relations since Trump took office a week ago (one should remember that Lula explicitly endorsed his adversary, Kamala Harris, on the eve of the November election).?

Be smart. The stakes are high — the US is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner (only trailing China) and the leading destination for Brazilian manufactured goods.?

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??? On this week’s podcast …

Our podcast is back! For our first episode of 2025, we bring you a crucial topic for Brazil’s political landscape: the upcoming elections for the leadership positions in Congress and how they will affect Brazil’s political landscape, the tensions between the Lula administration and the far right, as well as how the new congressional outlook will affect landmark projects such as the tax reform.????Listen to the full podcast here!

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That wraps up this week’s edition. See you next Sunday evening! Subscribe to the Brazilian Business News Roundup, your essential weekly recap to never miss a beat in Brazil’s business environment.

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Founded in 2017, The Brazilian Report is an English-language media outlet uniquely positioned to provide an insider’s view of current affairs in Brazil and Latin America, with a mission to make Latin Americans’ voices heard and become the reference for Latin American news worldwide. An award-winning newsroom, The Brazilian Report has just received recognition for its portfolio of newsletters at this year’s Wan Ifra Awards.

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