Brazil

Robert Muggah is the co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a Brazil-based think and do tank that focuses on security and justice across Latin America, Africa and Asia. He is also co-founder of the SecDev Group, a digital consultancy working in the Middle East, Eurasia and South Asia. He advises governments and business and civil society groups in Latin America and around the world on data-driven and evidence-based security, justice and new technologies.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York has announced that it will no longer host an event honoring Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is outspoken about his desire to roll back environmental protections.

Brazil has arrested five people after a dam collapse that killed at least 65 people. The arrests included workers with Vale SA, an iron ore producer that owns the dam in southeastern Brazil, and consultants with a German company that certified the dam for safety.

The three Vale employees had been involved in getting the mining project licensed, Bloomberg reports. Police have seized documents and mobile phones as part of the investigation.

Search crews are looking for up to 300 missing people in southeastern Brazil, after a dam at an iron ore mining complex collapsed Friday, releasing a deluge of muddy mine waste that swallowed part of a town. Since then, the death toll has risen to 60, according to Brazilian media outlets citing the area fire brigade, and the safety practices of the mine's owner have come under scrutiny.

An openly gay congressman in Brazil says he has received death threats and that he has left the country and given up his third term in office because he fears for his life.

Jean Wyllys, a champion of LGBT rights and a critic of newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro, also told the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that he faced a deluge of false accusations on social media and an increasingly hostile environment for LGBT people in Brazil.

In his second week in office, far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has pulled the country out of a U.N. migration pact, fulfilling a pledge he made before taking office.

A far-right populist who has been called the Donald Trump of Brazil has been sworn in as President of Latin America's most populous country.

Jair Bolsonaro, a retired Army captain who has no executive experience, has promised to crack down on criminals, roll back environmental regulations, restrict abortions and relax gun laws in Brazil.

Under tight security and with much ceremony, Bolsonaro took office Tuesday in the country's capital city, Brasilia; in the streets, firefighters misted enthusiastic crowds with water as they cheered on their new president.

The global advance of populist nationalism will reach another milestone on New Year's Day, when Jair Bolsonaro is sworn in as president of Latin America's largest nation, Brazil.

Officials predict that up to 500,000 people will flood the streets of the capital, Brasília, to celebrate his inauguration, which will take place inside the chamber of the national Congress.

Brazil has rescinded its bid to host a major U.N. conference on climate change next year, raising questions about how the incoming far-right administration will handle environmental issues.

Brazil's foreign ministry made the announcement, saying it withdrew its offer due to "the current fiscal and budget constraints, which are expected to remain in the near future," according to a statement provided to The Associated Press.

Updated at 3:10 a.m. ET

Brazilian far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro — a retired army captain who has expressed admiration for dictatorship; repeatedly denigrated women, minorities and LGBT people; and decried "fake news" — has become the country's new president.

With nearly all the ballot counted, Bolsonaro leads his opponent, Fernando Haddad, by a comfortable margin. The country's biggest news channel, Globo, already has called the election for Bolsonaro.