The new Brazilian monthly minimum wage of BRL 1,621 (USD 294.5) came into effect this Thursday (Jan. 1). The adjustment of 6.79 percent, or BRL 103, was confirmed by the Ministry of Planning and Budget on December 10. The previous minimum wage was BRL 1,518.

The new value was announced after the release of the National Consumer Price Index (INPC), which is used to calculate the annual minimum wage adjustment. The index registered 0.03 percent in November and accumulated 4.18 percent over 12 months.

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According to estimates from the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese), the new minimum wage will inject BRL 81.7 billion into the Brazilian economy. The calculation takes into account the effects on income, consumption, and tax revenue, even under a scenario of stricter fiscal constraints.

Rule

The rule for adjusting the minimum wage stipulates that the value must be based on two factors: one based on the 12-month accumulated INPC (National Consumer Price Index) through November of the previous year, that is, 4.18 percent, and another based on economic growth from two years earlier.

On December 4, the Brazilian government’s statistics agency IBGE revised the 2024 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the sum of goods and services produced in the country - confirming an expansion of 3.4 percent.

However, the fiscal framework, a mechanism that controls the evolution of public spending, determines that gains above inflation are limited to a range of 0.6 percent to 2.5 percent.

According to the rule, the minimum wage in 2026 would be BRL 1,620.99 and, with the rounding provided for by law, it becomes BRL 1,621, an adjustment of 6.79 percent.

Six bets will share the billion-dollar Mega da Virada jackpot, drawn on Thursday (Jan. 1), totaling BRL 1,091,357,286.52. In a statement, Caixa Econômica Federal announced that each winning bet will take home BRL 181,892,881.09. The numbers drawn in contest 2,955 were 09, 13, 21, 32, 33 and 59.

Of the winning bets, three were placed at lottery shops, while the other three were made through electronic channels. Two of the six winning bets were pools.

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According to the public bank, the 3,921 bets that hit the quina (five numbers) will each receive a cash prize of BRL 11,931.42. Finally, the quadra, which rewards those who hit four numbers, will pay BRL 216.76 to each of the 308,315 winners.

“The 17th edition of Mega da Virada recorded more than BRL 3 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 22.6 percent compared with 2024,” the bank said.

Operational problems

The draw scheduled for Wednesday evening (Dec. 31) was postponed to Thursday (Jan. 1) due to operational problems.

In a statement, Caixa explained that the record prize generated unprecedented activity across betting channels. The bank recorded 120,000 transactions per second on its digital platforms and 4,745 transactions per second at lottery outlets nationwide.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from the hospital late Thursday afternoon (Jan. 1) after undergoing surgery at a hospital in Brasília. Bolsonaro has been in prison since November, after being convicted of participating in a coup plot to prevent President Lula from taking office.

Bolsonaro had been hospitalized since December 24 and underwent surgery for a bilateral inguinal hernia.

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The hospital’s medical team then evaluated the need for additional procedures to address his hiccups. On Wednesday (Dec. 31), the former president underwent an endoscopy, which revealed persistent esophagitis and gastritis.

With his discharge from the hospital, Bolsonaro returned to the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília, where he has been imprisoned since November after being sentenced to 27 years and three months for the coup plot.

On Thursday morning, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied a request by the former president’s defense team for humanitarian house arrest following his release.

In his decision, Moraes ruled that Bolsonaro’s defense had not presented “any new facts that could overturn the reasons underlying the decision to deny the request for humanitarian house arrest issued on December 19, 2025.”

The document reiterates that Bolsonaro’s doctors remain authorized to have full access, along with the necessary medications, a physical therapist, and “the delivery of food prepared by his family members.”

* Lana Cristina (TV Brasil) contributed to this report.

Bets for the Mega da Virada draw, both in person and online, will close at 8 p.m. (Brasília time) this Wednesday (Dec. 31). The estimated prize for this year-end contest is around USD 180.5 million, the largest in the Brazilian lottery’s history.

This special draw takes place annually on New Year’s Eve. Bets can be placed at more than 13,000 lottery outlets nationwide, through the Caixa website, and via the Caixa lottery app. Bank customers can also use internet banking.

The event will take place at 10 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Caixa Lotteries Facebook page and Caixa’s YouTube channel. A simple bet of six numbers costs approximately USD 1.

The Mega da Virada prize does not roll over. If there are no winners in the six-number category, it will be distributed among those who correctly guessed five numbers in the next tier, and so forth.

Since its first edition in 2009, the Mega da Virada has paid out 130 prizes to bets that correctly matched all six numbers.

Brazil’s Ministry of Health has begun releasing sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the indigenous village of Cimbres, in the municipality of Pesqueira, state of Pernambuco, in yet another effort to combat dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. In a statement, the ministry reported that 50 thousand insects have been released with the aim of strengthening arbovirus control in the region.

“The strategy prevents mosquitoes from producing offspring when they mate with females, contributing to the gradual reduction of the vector population and virus transmission,” the statement reads.

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According to the ministry, the initiative marks the beginning of the implementation of the sterile insect technique in indigenous territories. Planned for the next phases is the weekly release of more than 200 thousand sterile mosquitoes. The initial investment is BRL 1.5 million – covering production, logistics, and monitoring.

In addition to Cimbres, the technology will also be implemented in indigenous territories in the states of Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul.

The continuity and expansion of the initiatives will depend on the results achieved and the technical evaluation of the teams involved, the ministry said. The data will enable the analysis of the impact on the reduction of cases of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.

Sterile insect technique

The sterile insect technique uses the species itself to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti. In the laboratory, male mosquitoes are sterilized by ionizing radiation, rendering them incapable of producing offspring, and are then released in large numbers in target areas.

When mating with females, the males do not produce offspring, leading to a progressive decrease in the population of arbovirus vectors.

“Because it does not use insecticides and poses no risk to health or the environment, the technique is recommended for indigenous territories located in conservation areas and forests, where the use of chemicals is restricted or prohibited,” the ministry stated.

In a statement published Friday (Dec. 12), the US government removed the name of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes from the list of persons under the Magnitsky Act.

The name of his wife, lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the Lex Institute, linked to the justice’s family, were also scrapped.

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The decision was made by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury.

The Magnitsky Act sanctions were imposed on Justice Alexandre de Moraes by the Donald Trump administration in late July. In September, his wife’s name was also added to the list.

The act

The Magnitsky Act is a tool in US law used to unilaterally punish alleged human rights violators abroad. Among other things, the measure blocks the assets and companies of those targeted by the sanctions in the US.

Among the penalties are the freezing of bank accounts, assets, and holdings within US jurisdiction, as well as a ban on entry into the country.

In applying the sanction to Moraes, the US Department of the Treasury accused Justice Alexandre de Moraes of violating freedom of expression and authorizing “arbitrary arrests,” citing the trial of the attempted coup by Brazilian former President Bolsonaro as well as court decisions against US social media companies.

According to Treasury Secretary Scot Besset, Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions, “including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.”