Is there a difference between local and foreign investment or companies owned by Brazilians and companies owned by foreigners?

No, in 1995 an amendment was passed in the Brazilian Constitution to amend the legal differences between foreign investments and domestic local investments. However, there are still some formal requirements that must be fulfilled in order to complete the registration process for your company. Things like:
● Document preparation (notarized and apostilled by Brazilian consulate).
● A Brazilian resident must be the legal representative for the foreign Quotaholders (partners need legal representative “Attorney-in-fact” temporarily till they obtain residency in Brazil)
● Quotaholders must name a Brazilian resident as the Managing-Director / Administrator for limited liability companies.
But when talking about business; selling, buying, taxation, etc., businesses are 99.99% the same for Local domestic direct investment and foreign direct investment.