LatinNews Daily - 3 August 2023

* Brazil’s finance minister, Fernando Haddad, has praised the federal government’s ‘Desenrola’ debt renegotiation programme in an interview on the state broadcaster EBC. Haddad said that “we have started very successfully, cancelling 7.5m debts of up to R$100 (US$20.8), which should correspond to something around 3.5m taxpaying individuals”. He also said that the renegotiation of a further 3bn debts was underway. The minister highlighted that the Desenrola programme, which came into effect on 17 July, aims to combat a “crisis of debt defaults”. The initiative, which aims to lift low-income individuals out of debt, will be implemented in various stages. During the first two stages, the federal government is working with banks to forgive small debts (under R$100) and facilitate the renegotiation of debts for individuals with an income of up to R$20,000. The third stage of Desenrola will begin in September and will see more individuals made eligible for the programme.