Economy & Business - June 2026

The world wants rare earth minerals and Brazil has the planet’s second-largest reserves of them. While President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is eager for foreign investors to help develop a nascent industry and kickstart a sluggish economy, he is adamant it should be on his terms. The leftist leader has repeatedly said that Brazil will not raffle off its raw materials to the highest bidder but instead will seek to maximise value added by processing them domestically.