Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was received on Thursday by his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, in his first official visit to Washington since his return to power in 2023 and the second face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, following a brief 45-minute encounter on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur last October. The meeting, formalized as a working session rather than a state visit, seeks to consolidate the fragile bilateral truce reached after one of the most severe diplomatic crises in two centuries of relations between the two most populous democracies in the Americas.

Brazil’s Central Bank following its two days meeting 28–29 April of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) announced the reduction of its SELIC rate by 25 basis points to 14.50%.

Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi made a day trip to São Paulo on Tuesday to meet Brazilian business leaders interested in investing in Uruguay, in an agenda Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin described as an opportunity to "move to a new phase in the levels of commercial development and Brazilian investments" in the South American country. The official delegation included Lubetkin himself, Economy and Finance Minister Gabriel Oddone, Uruguay's ambassador to Brazil Rodolfo Nin Novoa, and the executive director of investment promotion agency Uruguay XXI, Mariana Ferreira.

The association agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) enters provisionally into force on Friday May 1, after more than a quarter-century of negotiations, in what constitutes one of the world's most ambitious trade deals and the largest reciprocal opening ever finalised by the South American bloc. The final signing took place on January 17 in Asunción and, although final ratification by the European Court of Justice and subsequent approval by the European Parliament remain pending, provisional entry into force allows the immediate start of tariff reductions covering 95% of Mercosur products and 91% of EU products.

Brazil's nominal public sector deficit reached 9.41% of gross domestic product in the twelve months to March 2026, nearly one percentage point higher than the previous period, according to data published on Thursday by the Central Bank. The combined shortfall of all public administrations — central government, states, and municipalities — stood at 1.21 trillion reais, equivalent to around $244 billion, in one of the highest readings in recent years for Latin America's largest economy.

Jorge Messias, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's nominee to fill the open seat at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), defended on Wednesday before the Senate the need to limit the power of judges, in a bid to expand support for his candidacy in what is shaping up to be a closely contested vote. The Solicitor General of the Union appeared before the Constitution and Justice Committee, where he made explicit overtures toward the Bolsonarist right-wing opposition, particularly critical of the country's top court's recent rulings.

The US-Iran conflict has propelled currencies from energy-exporting countries into the limelight, with windfall profits from exports of oil, gas and metals helping them to outperform the US dollar.

SiGMA South America closed in Sao Paulo on April 10th drawing more than 18,000 delegates and over 400 exhibitors for three days of debate about the future of online gaming across Latin America. The centrepiece discussion was unavoidable: one year on from the launch of Brazil's regulated iGaming market on January 1, 2025, what has actually been achieved and what remains unresolved?