🏗🚢 Safe harbor?
Eyes from around the world are fixed on a Santos port terminal auction. Brazil overtakes the US on an annual democracy monitor. Previewing the Central Bank’s upcoming rate decision.
In this issue:
Eyes from around the world are fixed on a Santos port terminal auction.
Brazil overtakes the US in an annual democracy monitor.
Previewing the Central Bank’s upcoming rate decision.
US and China tussle over key port auction in Santos
Kevin Murakami, the US consul general in São Paulo, visited Santos on March 5 for an event with business leaders and Port Authority officials. Along with remarks on US-Brazil cooperation to curb drug trafficking through Santos, he reportedly addressed the upcoming auction set to expand Latin America’s busiest port by roughly 50%.
A Tribuna, the local newspaper hosting the event, quoted him as saying: “Our concern is an auction that gives an advantage to Chinese state-owned companies, which could put Brazil’s sovereignty over its biggest gateway — the largest port in Latin America — at risk.”
The terminal in question is a project that the Brazilian government deems to be the most ambitious port project in the country’s history. Set to be built at the Saboó wharf on the right bank of Santos harbor, Tecon Santos 10 would cover 621,900 square meters (~6.7 million square feet) and handle up to 3.25 million TEUs1 per year.
