Senate Approved Valenzuela, Shannon’s Confirmation Remains Stalled

The Senate confirmed Arturo Valenzuela, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, for  Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs.
Valenzuela’s predecessor, Thomas Shannon, still awaits confirmation to become U.S. Ambassador to Brazil.
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The U.S. Reinforces Compensation for Fighter Jet Sale

Patrícia Campos Mello-Estado de São Paulo, 11/02/09
The United States improves its proposal to sell 36 F-18 Boeing fighter jets to the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira). If the Brazilian government buys the 36 jets from Boeing, Embraer will automatically receive a contract to produce and assemble the wings for 58 Super Hornet [...]

It would be a pity for Brazil not to take the best plane and the best opportunity

Patrícia Campos Mello-Estadão de São Paulo, 11/02/09
According to Ellen Tauscher, the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security of the United States, the fighter jet sale would help deepen the relations between the United States and Brazil.
The sale of F-18 Boeing fighter jets to the Brazilian Air Force will strengthen the ties between [...]

More info: Honduras takes Brazil to world court over Zelaya

Mike Corder-The Associated Press, 10/29/09
Honduras’ interim government has filed a case at the U.N.’s highest court accusing Brazil of meddling in internal Honduran affairs by allowing ousted President Manuel Zelaya to stay at its embassy in Tegucigalpa, the court announced Thursday.
The administration of interim President Roberto Micheletti asked the International Court of Justice to order [...]

Honduras lodges lawsuit against Brazil at U.N. court

Reuters, 10/29/09
Honduras has lodged legal proceedings against Brazil at the International Court of Justice in The Hague over Brazil allowing ousted President Manuel Zelaya to take refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.
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Sleepless nights holed up in Brazilian Embassy

Esteban Felix-The Associated Press, 10/27/09
Nearly a month has passed since I slept in the dark.
All night long, floodlights shine on the Brazilian Embassy where I have been holed up with ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya since he slipped back into the country.
When I do manage to sleep, I’m awakened by high-pitched cat calls from the [...]

Brazil criticized for visit by Iran’s president

Reuters, 10/20/09
Jewish leaders on Tuesday criticized Brazil’s plans to receive Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad next month and urged the South American nation to condemn his denial of the Holocaust and “support of international terrorism.”
Brazil, which has defended dialogue and engagement with Iran, is due to get a visit from Ahmadinejad in late November.
“For us, it [...]

Brazil a nuclear power? Probably not

Andres Oppenheimer-The Miami Herald, 10/18/09
Latin America has long prided itself on being the world’s most populated nuclear weapons-free region, but recent statements by top Brazilian and Venezuelan officials are making many of us wonder for how long that will be the case.
Brazil’s Vice President Jose Alencar made big headlines late last month when he stated [...]

The fight for GVT: Call options

The Economist, 10/15/09
Foreigners vie for a bigger slice of Brazil’s telecoms market
The bitter fight that has broken out between Telefónica, a Spanish telecoms giant, and Vivendi, a French conglomerate, for control of GVT, a small Brazilian operator, is a measure of the excitement about a booming market that investors believe still has lots of untapped [...]

Brazil Struggles to Reach Consensus in Preparation for Copenhagen Climate Meeting

Vannildo Mendes-O Estado de São Paulo, 10/14/09
The Minister of Justice, Tarso Genro, commented this Wednesday on the current struggle in the Brazilian government between “developers” and “environmentalists.” Genro sided with Brazil’s Minister of Environment, Carlos Minc. In an interview, Genro said that he approved Minc’s goals to reduce deforestation by 80% by 2020 and stabilize [...]