2011 January | IndusLatin

Brazil’s Rousseff signs energy accords in Argentina

January 31st, 2011 Posted in Argentina, Brazil, Energy

Brazil and Argentina will cooperate on the construction of two new hydroelectric dams and two nuclear reactors as part of expanded energy cooperation between the two countries. From Reuters:

“We will continue to work to strengthen Mercosur and consolidate the customs union … and we will keep on fighting protectionism by rich countries and policies that distort foreign trade, including exchange rates,” she said.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed energy cooperation agreements with her Argentine counterpart on Monday during her first official visit abroad since taking office.

South America’s two largest economies are growing briskly and their governments are working to ensure energy supply can keep pace with growing demand from industry and households and sustain long-term growth.

Rousseff and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez pledged to accelerate plans to build two hydroelectric dams on part of the Uruguay River that straddles their border. The Garabi and Panambi dams would have a capacity of 2,200 megawatts.

They also agreed to build two nuclear reactors for investigation purposes and exchange know-how on biofuels. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest ethanol producers and Argentina is a leading exporter of biodiesel made from soyoil.

“I’m sure the accords we’ve signed will prove fruitful,” Rousseff said in a speech at the presidential palace, vowing to boost bilateral ties and the Mercosur regional trade bloc.

The Brazilian Economy is Humming Along

January 27th, 2011 Posted in Brazil, Economics - Indicators, Policy and Trends

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Despite the slow pace of the economic recovery in North America and Europe, Brazil has seen remarkable growth in the last few years. In 2010, Brazil created a record 2.52 million new jobs, well above the previous record of 1.61 million new jobs that was set in 2007.

From MercoPress:

Figures in Brazil show that 2.52 million new jobs were created last year, the Brazilian Labour Ministry reported.

The number surpassed the 1.61 million formal jobs the nation generated in 2007, which was the previous high until now, and contrasts with the 990,000 formal jobs created in 2009 when the country was still suffering the effects of the global economic crisis. This is the highest increase since the statistic began in 1992.

In the last two months of 2010, however, the number of layoffs was greater than the number of hirings and only created some 100,000 net new formal jobs, defined as positions with complete labour and social benefits.

The vigorous expansion of employment is attributed to the solid growth of the Brazilian economy in 2010, estimated at 7.3 percent, following the contraction of 0.6 percent in 2009.

While economists estimated that Brazil was going to end the year with 2.2 million new jobs, the Labour Ministry released a figure significantly higher.

Labour Minister Carlos Lupi said that with December’s results included, 15.04 million new formal jobs were generated in the country during the eight-year presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who left office January 1.

The minister said that with the Brazilian economy forecast to keep up its good performance, Brazil is likely to create close to 3 million new jobs in 2011, the first year of the Dilma Rousseff government.

The increase in formal jobs in 2010 helped reduce the official unemployment rate to 5.7 percent last month, the lowest figure for December in the last eight years.