Amazon rainforest deforestation affects rainy season in Brazil and harms farmers; soybean and corn production are the most affected

A survey by two researchers from the Federal University of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, and one from the University of California, United States, and published by the Royal Meteorological Society points out that large-scale replacement of the Amazon rainforest by pasture or planting areas is reducing rainfall in regions such as the Brazilian Midwest.

Between 1998 and 2002, the rainy season in the region, comprising Rondônia, southern Amazonas, northern Mato Grosso, and southern Pará, was shortened by 27 days. This has a huge impact on the Brazilian double-crop, in some cases practically making the second harvest impossible. In Brazil, farmers plant soybeans and then corn on the same ground. Without the rain, planting corn after soybean harvesting is practically unfeasible.

According to consultancy AgRural, in 2019, the ideal planting period (window) for the Brazilian corn crop in 2020 should be shorter, as the irregularity of rainfall in recent weeks has caused soybean sowing to be delayed by several parts of the South Central States of the Country.

Deforestation in the Amazon grows over 200% in August 2019 compared to August of 2018; illegal and uncontrolled logging in the region increases risks of disease and pandemics

According to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), the Amazon rainforest has lost 1,698 square kilometers of vegetation. In August 2018, there were 526 square kilometers. In the first eight months of 2019, the deforested area reached 6,404 square kilometers (92% higher than in the same period of 2018), and 30,901 fire outbreaks were recorded in the Amazon biome in this period.

In the Amazon, 35% of deforestation cases occur in land grabbing areas in public forests, parks or public areas without a destination. This is what reveals a study by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).

According to National Geographic Brazil, deforestation is causing an increase in infectious diseases in humans. According to scientists interviewed by the magazine, with the increase in the felling of forests around the world, grows the "fear that the next deadly pandemic may arise from within these environments."

According to the National Geographic report, over the past two decades, increasing scientific evidence suggests that deforestation, by initiating a complex chain of events, creates conditions for spreading a wide range of deadly pathogens among humans, including, the Nipah and Lassa viruses, and the parasites that cause malaria and Lyme disease.

Amazon Rainforest fires will have global effect according to Unicamp Chemistry Institute research

According to site G1, a study by researchers at the Unicamp Chemistry Institute (IQ) in the city of Campinas, São Paulo, "identified that burning in the Amazon rainforest, in addition to impacts on climate and biodiversity, is responsible for release 4 to 8 tonnes of mercury per year, a highly toxic element".

Therefore, the study revealed that, in addition to the terrible destruction of the Amazon biome, the burning in the region causes high emissions of mercury in the atmosphere, a highly toxic element to living beings.

According to Professor and researcher Anne Hélène Fostier, since the substance can wander for up to a year until it is deposited anywhere on the planet. Therefore, the impact of the fires on the Amazon Rainforest will be global.

Anne Hélène Fostier, who is an oceanographer, warns that once released into the atmosphere, mercury can go into the soil or water bodies. In rivers, lakes, and oceans the harmful element goes through a process of methylation, which makes it even more toxic.

The research explains that this process generates methylation, which in turn happens in the environment by biological means and transforms inorganic mercury into organic, especially methylmercury, one of the most toxic forms of this element.

According to Fostier, "when methylmercury is incorporated into the food chain, the risks of intoxication are very high. It is a threat, especially to riparian populations, who find their main protein source in fish."

BNDES will sell R$ 38.8 billion in shares in 2020; Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4), JBS (JBSS3). and Copel (CPLE6) are among the shares that will be sold

BNDES has set an initial schedule for the next four equity offerings it will make in 2020, as part of its divestment program, according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. The plan is to sell JBS 'second tranche of shares, a relevant stake in Petrobras, Copel's and Tupy's, which, considering current values, represent sales of R$ 30.8 billion.

According to Valor, the idea of BNDES is to reduce its portfolio of about R$ 120 billion of investments and stakes, reaching the nearest zero in the next three years.

Trump's message on Twitter saying his administration will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum production of Brazil and Argentina shows how disconnected from the reality is the Bolsonaro government, and that the much-vaunted partnership with the US has proved to be pure wishful thinking

In a message posted on Twitter, the president of the United States, Donald Trump,  accuses Brazil and Argentina of devaluing their currencies and thereby harming US farmers. According to the president of the United States, his government will retaliate against Brazil and Argentina by reinstating import tariffs on steel and aluminum from both countries.

Thus, the US government indicates how unrealistic the current Brazilian government is. Jair Bolsonaro, who even said "I love you" to Trump after the Brazilian president's speech and before the American's speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25 in New York, now faces open retaliation by Donald Trump, until then the leader Bolsonaro considered his great partner.

According to the Poder360 website, "in the steel alloys category alone, Brazil exported 1.2 billion dollars in 2018 and 850 million dollars in 2019. Brazil is one of the largest exporters of steel to the United States."

According to economist Laura Carvalho, "Trump will take advantage of the high dollar to put tariffs on our products. That is, we will suffer the inflationary impact of the devaluation of the real without even reaping possible benefits on export performance. Who has a friend like Trump not need enemies".

Today, leaving the Alvorada Palace, Bolsonaro commented on Trump's decision to raise tariffs on Brazilian steel: “I will talk to Paulo Guedes, if I speak to Trump, I have an open channel with him”.

Cost of living in Brazil: beef and gasoline prices soar

Completely insensitive to the difficulties of the poorest population, currently half of the Brazilian population with R$ 413,00 per month (about 100 dollars), the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, told the website Poder360 that the "Brazilian consumer should get used to the increase. in the price of meat in recent months ". The high of this product since January 2019 was 5% to 26%, depending on the cut of meat.

The rising price of meat is being produced mainly due to rising Chinese demand, mainly after the swine fever led to the loss of 40% of the country's pork herd. For this reason, China started to buy more beef from many countries, including Brazil. This helped drive up prices.

Another central product for any economy that is experiencing high prices is gasoline. In recent weeks Petrobras has authorized a series of increases in the price of gasoline in refineries.

To make matters worse, the rise in the dollar price should also increase the prices of medicines in Brazil. This is because countless medications, although produced in Brazil, use imported inputs. The high dollar will make these inputs more expensive. As a result, laboratories will be under pressure on costs and will certainly pass on the dollar increase to consumers.

The US currency is on the rise after Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said the advance of the US currency is not a concern. The US currency, in recent months, jumped from R$ 3.70, July 18, to R$ 4.24, on November 26, and has remained at that level since then.

Another unfortunate statement by Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes raises the dollar and demands intervention by the Brazilian Central Bank in the foreign exchange market

Tension in the foreign exchange market in Brazil is the headline of today's leading Brazilian newspapers (27.10.2019). The newspaper O Estado de São Paulo states that the high dollar brings uncertainty about prices in Brazil and the continuation of interest rate cuts adopted by the Central Bank in the last weeks. The newspaper Valor Econômico informs that Guedes's statements made the dollar rise and forced the Central Bank to take action. Finally, the newspaper O Globo states that Guedes's statements about exchange rates led the dollar to rise to R$ 4.24 in Brazil.

In addition to Guedes' absurd statement about the AI-5, Brazil's Economy Minister also said, according to Correio Brasiliense, that he is not worried about the dollar over R$ 4.20. According to Guedes, "It's good to get used to the higher exchange rates and lower interest rates for a long time."

According to Correio Brasiliense, "in the last five months, the Brazilian international reserves have reduced by US$ 22.7 billion and in the last 12 months, have left the country US $ 40 billion".

A report produced by Swiss bank UBS indicates that, if annualized, the outflow of dollars over the past three months would total $ 75 billion. According to the latest data available from the Central Bank, the volume of international reserves totaled US$ 369.8 billion on November 18, before the interventions made today by the Central Bank to contain the currency hike.

Statement by Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, in Washington, about AI-5 is disastrous, irresponsible and very bad for the Brazilian economy, as it alienates potential investors

In a completely irresponsible speech, Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes stated, according to Folha de S.Paulo, that it is not possible to be frightened by the idea of someone asking for AI-5 in the face of a possible radicalization of street protests in Brazil.

According to the Correio, he defended the deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PSL-SP), son of President Jair Bolsonaro, who considered the implementation of a similar act in cases of protests against the current government. According to Guedes, the speech was "a reaction to what he called summons from the left."

Guedes' irresponsible declaration generates political instability in the country and acts against the economic reforms that Guedes himself intends to make. Jair Bolsonaro's own members are largely to blame for the country's ongoing political crisis, as they constantly give statements such as these that put the nation in a political crisis.

This and countless other statements by senior government officials are obviously bad for business and economic stability because no one invests in an unstable country, where the minister of economics talks about ending rights and abolishing democracy. Paulo Guedes, who calls himself a liberal, is actually much closer to Latin American dictators like Pinochet and Maduro.

The AI-5 was the Brazilian military regime's hardest blow to the rights of Brazilian citizens. Set up on December 13, 1968, during the rule of General Costa e Silva, it was the most complete expression of the dictatorship, as it allowed the military to arbitrarily punish any Brazilian citizen considered an enemy of the regime.

It institutionalized the annulment of mandates of opposition deputies, suspended political rights and promoted layoffs and forced retirements of anti-regime civil servants. The AI-5 allowed the closing of the National Congress and other legislative houses of the country indefinitely. Since the establishment of AI-5, repression of opponents and torture practices have resurfaced in Brazil. It was the beginning of the terrible Years of Lead.

#ai5nuncamais

Petrobras employees (PETR3; PETR4) are forbidden to strike by the Brazilian Superior Labor Court (TST)

The Brazilian Superior Labor Court (TST) upheld Petrobras' injunction preventing oil tankers from going on strike on Monday, 25. The schedule was to stop for four days, arguing that the company is breaching parts of the collective bargaining agreement, of clauses concerning safety at work and the environment and rights granted to contractors, according to the Single Federation of Oilers (FUP).

Meanwhile, Petrobras' largest refinery, Replan, in Paulínia (SP), recorded a 25% increase in oil refining last month, with 1,769,770 cubic meters (m³) processed in October representing the best. performance for the period since 2015.

Amazon deforestation reaches frightening levels and rises 29.5% in 2019; almost 10.000 square kilometers were cut down

According to experts, Jair Bolsonaro's anti-environmental speech, coupled with the dismantling of oversight bodies, prompted a clearing of the forest in 2019.

As published by the Climate Observatory, a coalition of dozens of environmental conservation organizations in Brazil, "this is a direct result of Bolsonaro's strategy of dismantling the Ministry of Environment, demobilizing enforcement, shelving plans. to combat deforestation of previous governments and to empower environmental criminals in his speech, and the president himself has proudly stated that he had sent his anti-environment minister, Ricardo Salles, 'to put the scythe into the IBAMA Renewable Natural Resources] '.Salles obeyed."

According to data from Prodes 2019 (Satellite Legal Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project), released by Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), the deforested area in the Amazon was 9,762 km² between August 2018 and July 2019, the highest since 2008. This figure represents a 29.5% increase over the same period last year (August 2017 to July 2018), when deforestation was 7,536 km².

This increase represents the highest rate since 2008 and also the biggest jump from year to year in the last 22 years. For scientists like Carlos Nobre, this deforestation should transform part of the Amazon territory into an impoverished savanna. Obviously, this is very serious, which should affect the climate in the region and reduce, due to the change in the country's rainfall cycle, the capacity of Brazilian agricultural production. Deforestation is horrible for the environment and also bad for business.

This week, during a talk at the Wilson Center Brazil Institute in Washington, Brazil's agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, heard several questions about problems in the Amazon at meetings with officials and investors. Therefore, the risk of an increase in the boycott of Brazilian products is getting bigger.

Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4) announces price adjustment for gasoline

According to site G1, Petrobras announced a 2.8% increase in fuel value. The increase comes after importers point out that the rise in international gasoline prices implies a lag, as one industry association said.

The Brazilian state-owned company increased by 2.8% the price in refineries on 11.18.2019.

With the adjustment of about 5 cents, the average price of gasoline should be around R$ 1.84 per liter, higher since the end of May (R$ 1.95), according to data from Petrobras compiled by Reuters.