πΊπΈ On Wednesday, August 13, we had an excellent meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Itβs a unique opportunity to be able to talk about Brazil and America with someone so well-prepared.
Thank you, @SecScottBessent, for your receptiveness and helpfulness. May the bonds of friendship between Brazil and the USA grow even stronger.
*With @pfigueiredo08
The timing of the US-Brazil battle is especially difficult:
1) The US public has tuned out the tariff issue. After April's panic, Trump mostly retreated & there has been almost no extra inflation. So, very little pressure for resolution on Brazil. PΓΊblico americano tΓ‘ nem aΓ
2) Lula's approval rating had been trending down for months, some speculating he might not even run for reelection in 2026. This fight favors him (at least for now), has clearly reenergized him, & even some Lula skeptics including both heads of Congress who said yesterday Brazil must defend its sovereignty.
3) Trump has had a series of "wins" with other Latin American nations (Mexico, Panama, Colombia) -- "teaching" the president that tough tactics lead govts to immediately send delegations to Washington to negotiate. But Brazil is much less dependent on US for trade and security, & if the Bolsonaro trial is Trump's main grievance (I think it is), there's not much to negotiate.
4) Related: The widespread expectation in BrasΓlia is that Bolsonaro will be arrested (jail or more likely house arrest) before the end of 2025, maybe as soon as August. So this is a crisis that is almost certain to worsen in medium term, likely prompting even bigger reaction from Trump.
5) Lula has left door open to talks and in theory Brazil could lower some tariffs as a concession. But I just don't think this is about trade (US has a surplus!) Lula will not leave BRICS or cancel/discourage Chinese investments like Panama & Mexico have -- it exports 2X as much to China as to US.
Bottom line: This impasse could continue for weeks or months, unless US courts rule these tariffs illegal (see today's NYT) or the Bolsonaro family personally asks Trump to roll back tariffs, perhaps focusing on sanctions against judges instead (seems unlikely).
I love looking out the side window of the cupola on the @Space_Station. This particular view is looking starboard toward Antarctica to catch the aurora β and look at the star movement!
Iβve seen a lot of reds and greens in the aurora, but this one had some purple hues, as well. Itβs just gorgeous.
MM Update: #Binance flush $SOL to the low range using artificial volatility - over $30m $SOL sent to Market Maker #Wintermute on Solana to flush the lower range on low volume weekend and clear long standing Long Leverage traders. #Coinbase have sent $30m in Stable Coin to #Wintermute on Solana IMO: to buy the $SOL dip.
You can watch the shenanigans yourselves it is public information: Here are Wintermutes Solana wallets they use to execute crypto trades against exchanges on behalf of the exchanges.
Primary Solana- 5sTQ5ih7xtctBhMXHr3f1aWdaXazWrWfoehqWdqWnTFP
Secondary Solana - MfDuWeqSHEqTFVYZ7LoexgAK9dxk7cy4DFJWjWMGVWa
#Binance sent $32m of $SOL to Wintermute in the last 4 hours.
#Coinbase sent $30m of $USDC on Solana to Wintermute in the last 4 hours.
Examples: