During a visit to Lisbon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday (Apr. 21) that Portugal could be the main gateway for Brazilian business interests in Europe. The statement comes in the context of the entry into force of the Mercosur-European Union Agreement on May 1.

Lula met for the first time with Portuguese President António José Seguro, who took office on March 9. After meeting the head of state at the National Palace of Belém, he had lunch with the head of government, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, at the São Bento Palace.

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The Brazilian president advocated for closer economic integration with Portugal and for Brazilian companies to operate in the country. Lula cited the example of Embraer aerospace company, which has maintained an industrial park in Évora since 2012.

“We can replicate initiatives like those of Embraer here in Portugal. It is the most successful example of a Brazilian company helping to build things in the country,” he said, addressing the prime minister.

Trade

Bilateral trade between Brazil and Portugal totaled USD 4.5 billion in 2025. Brazil recorded a trade surplus of USD 2 billion.

In addition to the aerospace industry, Brazilian companies have investments in Portugal in the steel, machinery, and equipment sectors.

For its part, Portugal is a major supplier of oil and gas to Brazil and has investments in infrastructure and the electricity sector.

Brazilian immigrants

During the visit, the presence of the Brazilian community in Portugal was also discussed. The Portuguese prime minister noted that “Brazilians who come to Portugal - who now number more than 500,000 - have come to work, to pursue their goals, and have achieved a high level of social and economic integration.”

Montenegro acknowledged, however, that there have been incidents involving Brazilians in Portugal, adding that, in his view, these are isolated cases.

“This does not mean there have not been, here and there, isolated disturbances,” he stated.

The number of Brazilians in Portugal is about five times greater than that of Portuguese in Brazil - 104,000, according to the 2022 IBGE Census - making them the second-largest group of foreigners in Brazil.

Outside the Belém Palace, Brazilian and Portuguese protesters both for and against President Lula gathered throughout the day. According to Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), the groups were kept apart by police barriers and tape, and no clashes were reported.

Return to Brazil

Lula’s visit to Portugal coincides with Tiradentes Day, April 21. The holiday honors the martyr of the Inconfidência Mineira - an 18th-century independence movement and a symbol of the struggle for freedom and independence in Brazil, a former Portuguese colony.

Lula’s trip to Lisbon followed visits to Spain on April 17 and 18 and to Germany on April 19 and 20. The president returned to Brazil on Tuesday (21).

The Ministry of Health this week released a new report on the situation of indigenous peoples in the Yanomami territory in Roraima, the country’s largest indigenous territory. It recorded an 80.8 percent reduction in malaria-related deaths between January 2023 and the end of 2025, after the Brazilian government declared a Public Health Emergency of National Importance (ESPIN) to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the invasion of illegal gold miners.

The report cites a 75.9 percent increase in the number of tests conducted through active case finding. Testing for the disease also rose from 144,986 to 257,930 in 2025.

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Deaths from malnutrition fell by a significant 53.2 percent between 2023 and 2025. During the same period, the share of children under five with adequate weight increased from 45.4 percent to 53.8 percent, according to the report.

There was an increase in the number of children receiving regular follow-up care from health teams, rising from 70.1 percent to 85.1 percent. Severe malnutrition also declined, with the share of children who were severely underweight falling from 24.2 percent to 15.2 percent during the period.

The number of consultations for acute respiratory infections increased by 254 percent between 2023 and 2025. As a result, the disease’s case fatality rate fell by 76 percent, while the number of deaths declined by 16.7 percent since the start of the Public Health Emergency response.

Vaccines

In the area of immunization, the Ministry of Health confirmed a 40 percent increase in the number of doses administered in 2025 compared with 2023, rising from 31,999 to 44,754. The percentage of children under one year of age with a complete vaccination schedule more than doubled during the period, rising from 27 percent in 2023 to 60.6 percent in 2025. Among children under five, the rate grew from 47.4 percent to 78.3 percent, reflecting stronger routine vaccination efforts.

According to the Ministry’s Secretary of Indigenous Health, Lucinha Tremembé, the results reflect expanded access to healthcare in the territory, reaffirming the government’s commitment to protecting lives and promoting the health of indigenous peoples.

“We are making steady progress in improving health in the Yanomami territory, with a reduction in deaths and, above all, in deaths from preventable causes such as malnutrition and malaria. These results reflect the current administration’s ongoing effort to strengthen the Brazilian government’s presence, ensuring comprehensive, high-quality care that respects the cultural specificities of indigenous peoples,” she noted.

Health services

Among the advances highlighted by the Brazilian government is the expansion of the healthcare workforce in the territory. Since the start of the health emergency, the number of professionals has more than tripled, rising from 690 to over 2,130 workers deployed directly in villages, at the Indigenous Health Center (CASAI) in Boa Vista, and within the facilities of the Yanomami Special Indigenous Health District.

In the area of infrastructure, the Yanomami Center for Emergency Public Health Operations highlighted the completion of 261 interventions in water supply systems, along with the installation of more than 1,400 filters, helping expand access to safe water.

The government also installed 61 solar energy systems and upgraded health facilities, strengthening the foundation for primary care in the territory.

Another important milestone during the national emergency period was the renovation and expansion of the Indigenous Health Reference Center (CRSI) at the Surucucu base camp, deep inside the territory.

Since its restructuring, the facility - which serves as a reference point within the indigenous territory - has provided 4,374 outpatient consultations. Of these, 2,081 were laboratory tests and 328 were ultrasound exams. The facility serves 48 communities and handles most patient transfers to higher-capacity healthcare facilities in the region.

“This specialized infrastructure has helped improve clinical management, strengthen community ties, and streamline care pathways,” the Ministry of Health said in the statement.

The Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday (Apr. 7) authorized the resumption of the case in Federal Court in Minas Gerais to determine the criminal liability of former Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman in the 2019 dam collapse at the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho.

By a majority vote, the justices of the Sixth Panel of the Superior Court accepted an appeal from the Federal Prosecutors’ Office to overturn the March 2024 decision of the Federal Regional Court of the 6th Region, which had dismissed the criminal case against the former CEO.

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At the time, the court ruled that there was no evidence of Schvartsman’s involvement in the dam collapse and no justification for continuing the proceedings.

The case began being heard by the Court in September of last year and was suspended three times due to requests for review.

At the start of the trial, Schvartsman’s defense argued for upholding the TRF6 decision, stating that the Court had recognized that the former CEO could not be held liable.

The dam burst in January 2019, and more than 270 bodies were recovered from the tailings by the Fire Department.