BRASÍLIA DAILY — 18 MARCH 2026
Fazenda Meets Mozambique Finance Minister to Expand Economic Ties; SP Polícia Civil Indicts Lieutenant Colonel for Feminicide; Nobel Economist to Train Brazilian Public Servants; Câmara Advances MEI Revenue Threshold and Prison Measures
STF Convicts Three PL Deputies for Corruption in Parliamentary Amendment Scheme
First Chamber convicted Deputies Josimar Maranhãozinho, Pastor Gil, and suplente Bosco Costa for demanding bribes to release budget amendments; Justice Dino cited existence of amendment wholesalers.
Congress Promulgates Mercosul-EU Trade Agreement After 26 Years
National Congress ratified Mercosur-EU free trade accord; government expects provisional entry into force May 1 with gradual tariff reductions.
DRIVING THE DAY
SUMMARY: Finance Minister Fernando HADDAD received Mozambique Finance Minister MAX CHANGALANE 17 March to discuss expanded economic cooperation and fiscal information exchange, with the meeting part of a broader Fazenda strategy to deepen sub-Saharan engagement following President LULA da Silva's 9 March summit with South African President Cyril RAMAPHOSA. São Paulo Civil Police indicted 17 March Polícia Militar Lieutenant Colonel Geraldo Leite Rosa NETO for feminicide and evidence tampering in the 18 February shooting death of his partner, soldier Gisele Alves SANTANA, whom Neto had initially reported as a suicide. Finance announced 17 March that Nobel laureate Abhijit BANERJEE will collaborate with Brazilian authorities to train civil servants in evidence-based public-policy evaluation, expanding use of randomized controlled trials across federal programmes. The Câmara approved urgency 17 March for twelve bills including one raising the Microempreendedor Individual revenue ceiling to R$ 130,000 and permitting two-employee hiring, accelerating the measure toward floor votes ahead of October elections. END SUMMARY.
