Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, toned down his fiery rhetoric at the World Economic Forum while pledging to make his country safer and more business-friendly, Wall Street Journal reported.
Delivering the keynote address at the summit in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, the former army captain promised to simplify Brazil’s byzantine tax system, cut public debt and take other steps to boost foreign investment and trade, but provided few details.
Bolsonaro, whose son Flavio is being investigated for alleged financial irregularities, also said his ministers were committed to cracking down on corruption and money laundering. “I took office amid a great ethical, moral and economic crisis. I am committed to changing our history,” he said, Guardian writes.
Bolsonaro also said Brazil would purge left-wing ideology from its politics and society, and he made no apologies for emphasizing economic growth, something his critics say will come at the cost of protecting Brazil’s environment, The New York Times adds.
Bolsonaro’s first international trip comes at a tense time for the new president as he thrashes out the details of unpopular pension overhauls, faces a growing scandal at home involving his son, and prepares for surgery to remove a colostomy bag that was fitted after he was stabbed in the stomach in a near-fatal attack on the campaign trail, the Journal adds.
Speaking for fewer than 10 minutes, Bolsonaro sought to legitimize his three-week-old government, which has been dogged by criticism abroad over his statements on human rights and the environment.
Bolsonaro, 63 years old, swept to victory in October with bellicose promises to get tough on crime, delighting voters in Brazil, where more people are murdered each year than in any other country. A staunch defender of Brazil’s 1964-85 dictatorship that he once served, he is known for cursing “human rights” and has long argued it should be easier for police to kill criminals.
He clinched 55% of the vote, defeating the leftist Workers’ Party and centrist PSDB party, which have won every other presidential election in the country since 1994.
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