⛽ Crude timing

The Brazilian government had a plan to unwind the fuel subsidies it improvised in March, when war between the US, Israel and Iran drove crude toward USD 120 a barrel and the pain reached the pump in an election year. Last week it let a BRL 0.35-per-liter diesel subsidy lapse, the first of several intended reversals. 

This week was meant to bring the gasoline cut. Then Donald Trump declared the US-Iran cease-fire "over" on Wednesday, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed to a near-standstill and Brent — which had drifted back toward USD 70 — jumped above USD 80 before settling near USD 76…

Don’t miss out! Upgrade to unlock full access. The process takes only seconds with Apple Pay or Stripe. Become a member.

We’re here for readers who want to truly understand Brazil and Latin America — a region too often ignored or misrepresented by the international media.

Since 2017, our reporting has been powered by paid subscribers. They’re the reason we can keep a full-time team of journalists across Brazil and Argentina, delivering sharp, independent coverage every day.

If you value our work, subscribing is the best way to keep it going — and growing.

You're already a subscriber — which means you've made a choice. You decided that understanding Brazil, accurately and ahead of the headlines, was worth paying for. Thank you. That choice is the reason we exist.

Every contribution above your subscription goes directly into journalism: the reporters and editors on the ground in São Paulo, Brasília, and Rio who file what parachute correspondents and recycled-wire intelligence simply can't. It's the difference between covering 2026 and covering it the way it deserves to be covered.

If The Brazilian Report has earned a place in how you read the country, consider giving beyond what you already pay. Whatever the amount, it funds the work — and it keeps it independent.