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blog

Brazilian Parliament Push To Roll Back Same-Sex Marriage Rights

BRASILIA — While most Brazilians are focused on the country's deepening economic and political crises, some politicians have another priority.

A special committee in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed a controversial statute last week that defined a family as a concept beginning from the union of a man and a woman. Rio de Janeiro daily O Globo reports that the text was promoted by conservative lawmakers with close ties to the Catholic Church , over fierce opposition from the governing Workers' Party of President Dilma Rousseff and pro-LGBT activists who spent last week protesting outside parliament.

The parliamentary showdown comes after the May 2013 decision by a Federal Court to effectively legalize gay marriage. Religious lawmakers told O Globo that the decision was a case of the judiciary overstepping its authority, and that Congress had to defend the traditional family structure.

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A file image of LGBT protesters at Brazili's Congress in Brasilia — Photo: Antonio Cruz

The vote sparked virulent debate between supporters and opponents of the statute. One legislator supporting the proposed new definition of family told the newspaper that gay marriage was "Marxist state intervention." A same-sex marriage supporter likened the new statute to a coup d'état.


The special committee's debate was called by Chamber of Deputies President Eduardo Cunha, President Rousseff's foremost political enemy. The statute represents another conflict between Congress and the President, who have been embroiled in a political battle for months over a massive corruption probe targetting Rousseff's party.

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Economy

How A Xi Jinping Dinner In San Francisco May Have Sealed Mastercard's Arrival In China

The credit giant becomes only the second player after American Express to be allowed to set up a bank card-clearing RMB operation in mainland China.

Mastercard has just been granted a bank card clearing license in China.

Liu Qianshan

-Analysis-

It appears that one of the biggest beneficiaries from Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to San Francisco was Mastercard.

The U.S. credit card giant has since secured eagerly anticipated approval to expand in China's massive financial sector, having finally obtained long sought approval from China's central bank and financial regulatory authorities to initiate a bank card business in China through its joint venture with its new Chinese partner.

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Through a joint venture in China between Mastercard and China's NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, dubbed Mastercard NUCC, it has officially entered mainland China as an RMB currency clearing organization. It's only the second foreign business of its kind to do so following American Express in 2020.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the development is linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting on Nov. 15 with U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco, part of a two-day visit that also included dinner that Xi had with U.S. business executives.

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