PERU: Humala's Cabinet Selections...Could Calm Markets.

BLOOMBERG / H. Murphy, J. Quigley

Peru's stock market has rebounded by 7%...after a crippling 12% crash and trade halt...when the results of the presidential election were finalized...and confirmed that longtime leftist Ollanta Humala had indeed narrowly defeated investor-friendly Congresswoman Keiko Fujimori.

Now Humala has to prove his conversion to less radical economic policies...perhaps by emulating Brasil's former President Lula da Silva's first years in office.

The markets will be closely watching his cabinet appointments.
“Humala has to come out and send a signal or this selloff won’t end,” said observer Mauricio Cardenas. “The market is asking for a response. It wants to hear who the finance minister will be.”
 But...says another expert...“Compared with Lula and his people, Humala is a political amateur. The best thing to do would be to calm down the markets and name a finance minister today.”

BRASIL / MEXICO : Lula Proposes Petrobras Hook-up...With Pemex.

LAHT/

    Ex-Brasilian president Lula da Silva believes that Mexico's and Brasil's oil monopolies should form a strategic partnership to work together for market growth and to further technological developments.
      In Acapulco, Lula wants the two governments to discuss the concept of exploring for oil “in other regions around the world with more competitive markets and to becoming more competitive, more profitable and larger Latin American companies.”
      Oil giant Petrobras is a world leader in deep-water drilling while Pemex’s output has stagnated from aging fields and few new discoveries.

BRASIL / PORTUGAL: 30 Mar. UPDATE: Lula Cautions Lisboa: Don't Take Bail-out!; New S/P Downgrade Just Above Junk; Dilma May Aid Former Colonial Power By Buying Debt.

AP/ H.CHRONICLE

   Brasil's ex-president Lula da Silva is warning Portugese pols NOT to take an IMF bail-out...even as Standard and Poor's downgraded Lisboa's debt...to just one notch above a junk rating.
    Lula said: "The IMF won't resolve Portugal's problem, like it didn't solve Brasil's. Whenever the IMF tried to take care of countries' debts, it created more problems than solutions."
    Lula has long criticized the IMF for espousing "orthodox and recessive concepts."
    Meanwhile, outgoing PM Jose Socrates (pictured hugging Lula) insisted again that his government "is determined not to ask" for a bailout. "I'm sick of saying we won't."

UPDATE:  Brasil President Dilma Rousseff is studying ways to help Portugal...either by buying its new debt offerings...or even by buying back some of the debt it currently owns.
    Brasil escaped Portugal's control in 1822.  Its economy is now almost 10 times larger than Portugal's.
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/30/brazil-considers-helping-portugal

BRASIL: Ex-Prez Lula Under Investigation By Feds For Misuse Of Funds.

BBC/

     Popular former President Lula da Silva has been out of office less than 60 days but is now being investigated by federal prosecutors for alleged misuse of public funds.
     They claim in 2004 Lula mailed 10 million letters costing $3.5m usd promoting low-interest loans that solely benefited the BMG bank - later linked to a corruption scandal.

BRASIL: At Least 2 Times, Lula Nixed Early Warning Radar Storm System.

WSJ/ Paulo Prada/

    In Brasil's worst natural disaster since 1900 with at least 806 dead and more than 300 still missing in Rio state, it's revealed that at least twice, former President Lula da Silva's administration rejected requests for an early warning storm project.
    Critics say the project could have saved many lives. "This is an example of a government realizing too late that it hasn't done what it could have," said former presidential candidate Marina Silva.

   Just last year, Brasil spent  more than 2 billion reais ($1.2 billion usd) on relief and reconstruction from floods and other emergencies.
    The proposed early warning system would have cost 115 million reais but was rejected. Later the proposal was cut to 36 million reais but that figure was also rejected.

BRASIL: Lula da Silva Defends Jailed WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange.

BLOOMBERG/
    Irascible and unpredictable, outgoing President Lula da Silva is  defending jailed controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
     Lula claims Assange did less harm than the authors of the classified documents and offered his “solidarity” with the jailed Australian national.
    “I’m surprised they arrested the man and I didn’t see any protest,” said Lula. “The guy was just posting what he read.”Lula also said that WikiLeaks “exposed a diplomacy that seemed to be untouchable.”

BRASIL: Debut Of The Lula Clones.

GUARDIAN/ Tom Phillips/ At least four candidates are running under Lula da Silva's name, with the hope that his immense popularity...will get them elected.

PHILLIPS: "We have a president with approval ratings of more than 80% and I think this would help anyone who has the same name or looks like him," said Luiz "Lula" da Silva. He is running for federal deputy in São Paulo and his bushy beard and virtually identical name are said to have shocked the president himself.
"It's natural. It's just like looking like Obama – that will give anyone a boost," said São Paulo's Lula, a former gravedigger and member of the president's Workers Party, who is running on an anti-crack cocaine ticket. "We are similar in many ways. He thinks I'm the guy who looks most like him in the whole of Brazil."

BRASIL/VENEZUELA/ COLOMBIA: Lula Seeks To Calm Tensions Over FARC Rebels Without Jeopardizing Trade.

BLOOMBERG/ Iuri Dantas and Charlie Devereux/       President Lula meets with Hugo Chavez over accusations that Venezuela is harboring Marxist rebels from Colombia. “There’s been a lot of indulgence of Chavez and this was a chance to draw some lines, because Lula is one of the few leaders that has any influence over Chavez,” said analyst Michael Shifter. “It’s clear Chavez is becoming more radical and it’s hard to get a sense Lula has gone as far as he could.” But, there are complex economic interests involved so Lula must avoid confrontation. Since Lula took office in 2002, exports to Venezuela jumped 494% to $3.6 billion last year, while investment by Brasilian companies there has more than doubled to $183 million in 2008.

BRASIL: Petrobras Spill Peril And Stock Dilution Chill Investors.

BLOOMBERG/ PETER MILLARD/  Long analysis /
    Ninety percent of Petrobras’s domestic production comes from beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In 2009, it pumped 20% of all the oil drawn worldwide from water deeper than 1,000 feet (300 meters), more than any other oil company. Exxon was second. What are the dangers of another massive oil gusher, this time in the deep waters  off Rio's coast? Investors also complain that the government is demanding too much control over Petrobras. Lula has said that BP cut corners “to do it cheaper” at its Macondo well. “In Brasil, we will not allow something like this to happen,” he said.

BRASIL: Israeli TV Mocks Lula And His Position On Iran.

YOUTUBE/LATMA NEWS/3:23/

BRASIL: Lula's Iran Nuke Deal: A Misstep For His Legacy?

NYTIMES/   Criticism continues to grow over President Lula and Turkey's deal with Iran to exchange uranium. Many in Brasil believe his mission was naïve and even detrimental to the nation’s standing and future nuclear ambitions. Iran Deal Seen as Spot on Brazilian Leader’s Legacy

“The most charitable interpretation is that we were naïve,” said  analyst Amaury de Souza. But “in a game like this, being labeled naïve just shows you have a third-rate diplomacy.”

EU/LATAM: Madrid Summit Summary; Pinera Says Results "Not Sufficient."

MERCOPRESS LINK with additional facts/
   Chile's President Sebastian Pinera is criticizing the Madrid Summit. “We have results, but I consider them not sufficient. I feel we are addressing old problems with old solutions”, he said. Pinera want “re-engineering” of world organizations like the IMF, World Bank, United Nations “created six decades ago for a world that is entirely different from nowadays”. He also believes there are two “visions” for the development of Latam countries: one led by Venezuela and the other by countries such as Chile and Brasil. Meanwhile, Brasil's Lula da Silva was awarded the New Economy Forum Prize 2010 and praised by Argentine president Cristina Kirchner as he delivered what may be his farewell speech. Pinera also met with Peru's President Alan Garcia in hopes to improve their nation's rocky relationaship. Piñera requested that García not bring up his plan for arms restriction in Latin America. Piñera believed that could be seen as an accusation pointed at Chile.

BRASIL: Lula Gets Credit For Brokering Iran Nuclear Deal.

AP/ MIAMI HERALD/   The first reports are mixed after President Lula da Silva, aided by Turkey's PM, got Iran to agree to ship some enriched uranium to Turkey. "Clearly this is a huge political home run for Lula," said consultant Christopher Garman. "He has rounded up the end of his term in a big way: He used his personal political capital and is playing a role in the Middle East." While Washington called the plan a "positive step," Iran also said it would keep enriching uranium that could help it develop a nuclear weapon.

BRASIL: Lula: "Ready To Get Back In The Game" After Hypertension Scare.

LAHT/
President Lula da Silva says that medical tests taken after a hypertension scare reveal that his health “is perfect” and his fatigue was the cause of a blood-pressure spike that forced him to cancel a trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He denies suffering from hypertension since his blood-pressure is tested every day and the results are always good. He also said that he will continue dieting and plans to improve his physical exercise routine.

BRASIL: Lula, Mantegna Predict A Bright Economic Future.

BBC/
"At present, Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world and has the fifth-largest population as well.
But in 17 years' time, it will also be the fifth-largest economy in the world, says its finance minister, Guido Mantega."

BRASIL: Caetano Veloso Calls Lula "Coarse" And "Illiterate", Supporting Silva.

MERCOPRESS/
Brasilian singer Caetano Veloso threw his support to Green party presidential candidate Marina Silva, calling President Lula da Silva “illiterate” and a “coarse speaker”.

Lula Promises Rio Money To Fight Drug Gangs.

REUTERS/
Rio's police may get 100 million reais($58.3 million) after 17 died in weekend drug violence.
Two gangs battled on Saturday, shooting down a police helicopter and setting 8 buses set on fire.
The dead included three police officers, who were in the helicopter when it crashed into a soccer field.

Rio Wins 2016 Olympics!

USATODAY/
Rio de Janeiro won the right to host the 2016 Summer Games on Friday in a overwhelming victory over finalist Madrid. The result of the final ballot was Rio: 66, Madrid: 32.
"I honestly believe it is Brazil's time," Brasilian President Lula da Silva told the IOC voters. "For the others it will be just one more Games. For us it will be an unparalleled opportunity."

Brasil Abuzz About Olympic Bid.

NYTIMES/
"Leaders here say winning the Olympics would be a transformational moment for Brazil, an affirmation of its rising global importance and a shot in the arm to the self-esteem of Cariocas, Rio’s residents, 85 percent of whom supported the Olympic bid in a recent poll by the International Olympic Committee.
“It would be overwhelming for our city, for our citizens and for Brazil as a whole,” said Carlos Osorio, the secretary general of Rio’s Olympic bid committee.
But can Rio deliver on the infrastructure needed for the big event?
Its hosting of the 2007 Pan-American Games says it might not. Rio politicians promised a host of urban infrastructure projects for the games, including a new metro line, that were not completed.

Lula Rejects Honduran Ultimatum Over Zelaya's Fate.

REUTERS/
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Silva rejected a 10-day ultimatum to decide Zelaya's fate and demanded an apology from Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti, who issued a harsh statement late on Saturday warning that his government would be forced to take action if Brazil does not define Zelaya's status soon.
"Brazil will not comply with an ultimatum from a government of coup mongers," Lula told reporters at a summit in Venezuela, adding that international law ensures the sovereignty of its embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital.