BRASÍLIA DAILY — 13 MARCH 2026
Lula Zeroes PIS/Cofins and Subsidizes Diesel with R$ 0.64 per Liter Relief as Brent Touches $100; Zanin Denies Master CPI Writ but Accepts Relatoria; CPMI Convokes Zettel and Graeff as Telematics Data Requires Seven-Hour Download
STF Rules Adopted Children Born Abroad Equal Brazilians by Birth
Supreme Federal Tribunal unanimously ruled adopted children of Brazilian parents registered abroad at consulates gain Brazilian nationality at age 18, ending distinction between biological and adopted children.
Lula Signs Diesel Tax Cut and R$ 0.64 Per Liter Subsidy to Counter Iran War Oil Shock
President eliminated PIS and Cofins taxes on diesel and signed provisional measure granting direct subsidy to producers and importers, totaling R$ 0.64 per liter relief.
Federal Police Opens 25 Inquiries in MEC Probe Involving Lula Sons' Associates
PF desmembered Operation Coffee Break into 25 inquiries investigating MEC resource irregularities involving ex-spouse of one Lula son and former business partner of another.
DRIVING THE DAY
SUMMARY: President LULA announced 12 March emergency fiscal measures delivering R$ 0.64 per liter combined relief on diesel—zeroing PIS/Cofins federal tax rates on imports and domestic sales while creating direct producer/importer subsidies through medida provisória—without altering Petrobras pricing policy as Brent crude briefly exceeded $100 per barrel on day 13 of the Iran war. Justice Cristiano ZANIN denied 12 March a mandado de segurança petition to compel immediate Câmara installation of a Banco Master CPI, ruling that the writ lacked "prova pré-constituída" required for the extraordinary remedy, but accepted the relatoria of the underlying case after Justice Dias TOFFOLI recused himself for the second time in 30 days citing "motivo de foro íntimo." The CPMI do INSS approved 12 March convocations of pastor Fabiano ZETTEL (Vorcaro's brother-in-law identified by PF as a financial operator) and Martha GRAEFF (Vorcaro's ex-girlfriend) while receiving telematics data so voluminous it required seven hours to download and will be stored in a sala-cofre with access restricted to seven CPMI members. Justice Alexandre de MORAES reversed 12 March his initial authorization for Darren BEATTIE—Donald Trump's special envoy to Brazil—to visit former president Jair BOLSONARO at Papudinha prison after MRE (Itamaraty) informed the court that Beattie had no official diplomatic schedule in Brazil and that the proposed visit constituted "indevida ingerência" in Brazilian internal affairs. END SUMMARY.
