Brazil & Southern Cone - April 2026

ARGENTINA | Poverty rate improves but outlook remains murky. The national statistics institute (Indec) released a report on 31 March which showed that the national poverty rate fell from 31.6% in the first half of 2025 to 28.2% in the second half of the year. This is the lowest poverty level since the first half of 2018. The latest numbers are a vast improvement from the first half of 2024 when Milei’s draconian belt-tightening measures and a spike in inflation drove the rate of poverty to 52.9%. However, the headline number conceals several harsh realities. For example, the Indec report showed that 41.3% of children under the age of 14 live in poverty; that is, they are unable to access a complete basket of basic consumer goods. Other indicators highlighted in the press have shown that the number of homeless people in Buenos Aires has increased 57% over the past two years, and 10.6% of households are overdue on bank loans – the highest level since 2010.

BRAZIL | Embraer unveils new supersonic fighter jet. On 25 March President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva travelled to a production facility of the aircraft manufacturer Embraer in Gavião Peixoto municipality, São Paulo state, to unveil the first ever plane produced in Brazil that can fly at supersonic speed – a unit of the F-39E Gripen military aircraft, produced in partnership with Swedish manufacturer Saab. This is the first aircraft from Embraer’s FX-2 fighter jet programme, which has been allocated a total investment of R$28.5bn (US$5.58bn) from 2014-2033, R$10.5bn of which is drawn from federal government funding. The programme is expected to produce 36 fighter jets, 15 of which will be produced in Gavião Peixoto. According to the government, Embraer’s fighter jet programme is estimated to create 2,200 direct jobs and 10,800 indirect jobs, with other Brazilian companies, such as tech firms AEL Sistemas, Akaer, and Atech, developing the software and hardware for different components in the Gripen jets.

Brazil & Southern Cone: inflation rate
Percentage variation (year-on-year)

Brazil & Southern Cone: GDP growth (%)
Quarterly figures are year-on-year growth