Brazil

September 17th, 2021

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1. Senate and Federal Supreme Court cancel Fake News Provisional Measure

The Federal Supreme Court and Senate simultaneously decided to cancel the Fake News Provisional Measure (PM) nine days after it was created by President Jair Bolsonaro. The measure was submitted by Bolsonaro on September 6, ahead of pro-government rallies planned for the 7th. The PM made it more difficult for social media profiles to be deleted and content removed.
 
Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM/MG) decided to return the PM to Bolsonaro, saying it is an unconstitutional proposal that makes it impossible to be discussed in Congress. Pacheco also said a similar bill – the Fake News Bill – is currently being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies and is likely to be approved by the Senate.
 
Federal Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber issued a preventive measure canceling the PM in response to six requests made by political parties. Opposition parties claimed that the PM would allow Bolsonaro allies to spread fake news on social media.

O Globo: Pacheco devolve MP que dificultaria combate a ‘fake news’ e impõe nova derrota a Bolsonaro
Senado Federal: Pacheco alega inconstitucionalidade e devolve MP das fake news
UOL: STF: Rosa Weber suspende ‘MP das fake news’ editada por Bolsonaro

2. 96% of Brazilians want to receive a third vaccine dose according to study

An Ipsos survey of 13 countries shows that 96% of Brazilians intend to get a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine if it is available. Brazil had the highest percentage of people open to the booster shot among the countries analyzed. Russia had the lowest percentage of citizens willing to take a third dose, at just 62% of its population.
 
The online study was conducted from August 26 to 30 in Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
 
In Brazil, the Ministry of Health authorized booster shots beginning on September 15, initially for people over 70 years old who are fully vaccinated. Due to the number of fully vaccinated people, 18 state capitals have already begun administering booster shots to their inhabitants.

Poder360: 96% dos adultos no Brasil querem a 3ª dose contra a covid, diz pesquisa
CNN Brasil: 96% dos brasileiros defendem vacinação contra Covid-19, aponta pesquisa
Folha de S. Paulo: Calendário da terceira dose contra Covid fica em descompasso nos estados

3. Approval rate for the federal government hits record low, according to Datafolha

A poll by Instituto Datafolha shows that 53% of Brazilians disapprove of the Bolsonaro administration – the highest rate since the beginning of his term in 2019. His rejection rate increased two percentage points since the last poll was published in July, when 51% of Brazilians said they disliked the administration.
 
Jair Bolsonaro is perceived as good or great by just 22% of Brazilians, a drop of two percentage points compared to the 24% approval rate in the previous poll. Datafolha’s poll was conducted from September 13 to 15. It interviewed 3,667 people over 16 years old in 190 Brazilian cities. This was the first poll they conducted since the protests of September 7.

Folha de S. Paulo: Datafolha: Avaliação de Bolsonaro piora, e reprovação de 53% é novo recorde do presidente
O Globo: Reprovação a Bolsonaro bate recorde, diz Datafolha
G1: Datafolha: reprovação ao governo Bolsonaro atinge 53%, pior índice do mandato; aprovação é de 22%

4. President of Petrobras explains higher fuel prices to the Chamber of Deputies

Fernando Silva e Luna, the president of Petrobras, went to the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday (09/14) to explain growing fuel and cooking gas prices. He was invited by Arthur Lira, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, and other political leaders.
 
During his deposition, Silva e Luna said that not all price increases are tied to company governance decisions. He said prices are also affected by international market fluctuations, claiming that the company does not immediately increase its prices in response to international price changes. He also mentioned that state and federal taxes are included in the prices.
 
Representatives from many different parties criticized the prices, especially those for cooking gas. Arthur Lira categorized Silva e Luna’s explanations as insufficient and said that he will continue to demand more transparency from the state company.

O Globo: Presidente da Petrobras repete discurso de Bolsonaro e alega que estatal não tem culpa por gasolina a mais de R$ 6
G1: Petrobras não repassa oscilações pontuais do petróleo ao preço dos combustíveis, diz Luna
Estadão: Lira diz que política de preços da Petrobras não está clara e sinaliza que Câmara pedirá informações

5. Energy crisis rekindles debate on daylight saving time

The likelihood of an energy crisis resulting from droughts at hydroelectric plant reservoirs has rekindled the debate on daylight saving time, which was cancelled by President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019.

Institutions representing the energy sector wrote a letter to the President defending re-implementing daylight-saving time as an emergency measure to contain the crisis. According to the document, bringing back the time change would lead to fewer thermoelectric plants being used to mitigate the crisis caused by the droughts. Thermoelectric energy is more expensive than energy generated by hydroelectric plants or windmills, which is why electricity bills have registered price increases.

The administration does not believe that daylight saving time will ease the crisis but claims to have demanded studies from the National Electric System Operator (ONS) on minimizing the problems caused by the drought.

CNN Brasil: Por economia de energia, setor elétrico pede retorno do horário de verão
Folha de S. Paulo:  Governo pede novos estudos sobre horário de verão
Valor Econômico:  Horário de verão pode voltar em 2021? Entidades do setor elétrico dão apoio