🇧🇷Week of November 2

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has opened an investigation into the Lula-Alckmin ticket over alleged abuse of political power. The court accepted a case filed by the Novo party seeking the annulment of the mandates of President Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.123

The TSE also admitted a separate action brought by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro against the same Lula-Alckmin ticket. The two cases are being processed alongside each other at the court.4

The Novo party's action asks the court to strip Lula and Alckmin of their mandates over the alleged abuse. The party's filing sets out its allegations against the ticket, and the case now moves forward at the TSE.25

A judge in São Paulo authorized three online betting houses to resume operations in Brazil after the federal government's ban on the sites. The decision was issued by a desembargadora, who described the federal prohibition as a "true confiscation."12345

The ruling covers three companies and was issued by a desembargadora of the regional federal court, TRF-3, according to Rádio Guaíba. The betting sites had been shut under the federal measure banning online betting.678

The Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU) said it will appeal the release of the three betting houses to the judge who had already upheld the government's provisional measure prohibiting the bets. The appeal targets the decision that allowed the sites to operate again.98

The federal government published a provisional measure on the Imposto Seletivo, known as the "sin tax," in an extra edition of the Diário Oficial da União on Wednesday night. The text sets the rates that will apply from 2027. It provides for a transition period, with the government proposing to keep the current IPI in place in January.123

Under the proposal, the current tax burden on products that harm health will be maintained next year, during the transition. The measure was expected to reach Congress on Wednesday.14

The measure was signed by the government of President Lula, which is presenting the rates for the new selective tax ahead of their 2027 start.53

Two tornadoes struck Santa Catarina and left a trail of destruction across dozens of cities in the south of Brazil. Civil Defense confirmed a second death and placed 23 cities in the state under emergency status after the tornadoes and storms.12

A tornado damaged the airport in Chapecó and suspended flights there. An Azul plane was about to take off in Santa Catarina when the tornado hit, and aerial images showed the airport after the storm.34

Court branches in the West and Serra regions of Santa Catarina suspended service on Wednesday because of the strong storms, according to the state court. A camera recorded a tornado arriving in a Santa Catarina city and the damage caused by the strong wind.56

Supreme Federal Court Justice Luiz Fux scheduled a public hearing on the provisional measure that bans betting sites, and added the Health and Justice ministries to the discussion. The hearing brings together football clubs, the court and the government to debate President Lula's ban.123

A majority of those summoned by Fux to the hearing opposes the prohibition, CNN Brasil reported. The session is set for Tuesday.42

Flamengo is seeking Supreme Court protection for a business that the club helped inflate, Terra reported. Grêmio will send a representative to the public hearing, and the club's relationship with the betting operator Pitaco is part of the debate.56

The Supreme Court and Congress both face decisions that could change the prohibition, InfoMoney reported. The court's hearing and the legislative track run in parallel as the ban's future is weighed.7

Brazil's Senate was due to vote on Tuesday on the Public Security constitutional amendment, opening its analysis with an impasse over lowering the age of criminal responsibility. The government's leader in the Senate said the government will vote for the security amendment without the age reduction, and that the change will be handled in a separate report. The vote is the first test for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Congress after his re-election.12345

The government worked to secure votes for the security amendment without the age-of-criminal-responsibility provision, according to a minister cited in coverage. The dispute over lowering the age has run alongside the amendment rather than inside it, with the government leader saying the question would go to a separate report.67

Attributed claim: CartaCapital, a left-leaning outlet, reported that the Senate voted on the security amendment under Bolsonarist pressure to reduce the age of criminal responsibility. The government leader's position, as reported by UOL and Valor Econômico, was that the government would back the amendment without the reduction and treat the age question separately.823

Deputy Dallagnol accused Lula of reneging on voters over the age of criminal responsibility, per the right-leaning Diário do Poder. Lula had publicly acknowledged reversing his position on lowering the age, saying he was convinced to change it, and the issue moved to the center of the election campaign.9

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre had postponed the Public Security amendment until after the election to avoid a dispute over the age of criminal responsibility, keeping it off the agenda during the second round between Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.14

A Learjet 60 crashed in a residential neighborhood of West Palm Beach, Florida, killing all nine people on board. A car-mounted camera recorded the moment of impact, and the jet exploded after coming down on an avenue in the area.123

The copilot was a 20-year-old Brazilian who obtained her pilot's license at 17, according to O Globo. UOL reported that she came from a Brazilian family, and CNN Brasil identified her as the Brazilian copilot of the jet.456

Audio obtained by Sky News captured the pilot reporting that the aircraft was in a rapid descent seconds before impact. "We're out of time," the pilot said, and on the tower recording he declared a mayday and warned, "we're going to hit the ground."789

The aircraft was a Learjet 60 executive jet. O Globo put its value at R$ 10.6 million, and VEJA published a breakdown of the model's cost.10111

Greece's air force has signed an agreement with Embraer to buy up to six KC-390 military transport aircraft, the Brazilian planemaker's cargo and troop-carrier jet. The order was reported on Monday by outlets across the Brazilian press, from G1 and Folha de S.Paulo to UOL and Tecnodefesa.1234

Greece becomes the eighth NATO country to buy the Embraer transport plane, adding a European member of the alliance to the aircraft's customer list.25

The deal adds to Embraer's order backlog ahead of the company's earnings release, VEJA reported.6

Coverage on Thursday repeated the agreement, with Estadão describing it as Embraer supplying up to six KC-390s to the Greek air force and Forbes Brasil reporting the sale of up to six aircraft to Greece.78