On January 22^nd, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addressed the world’s political and business elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Jair Bolsonaro took office on January 1^st, and the trip to Davos was his first as president. His short keynote speech during the opening ceremony highlighted the importance of the Forum and detailed his plans for the future of Brazil.

“We have the credibility to do the reforms we need and that the world expects from us”, said Bolsonaro. When asked what the reforms would be, he said that they would entail the pensions system and the tax structure. The reform in the pensions system has long been in discussion in Brazil, since it has been appointed one of the biggest challenges to reduce public deficit.

He also vowed to combat corruption and violence, in order to boost tourism to Brazilian destinations, and highlighted Brazil’s natural wonders. He defended the compatibility and interdependence between environmental preservation and economic development and announced other measures to promote economic development, such as reducing the tax burden, simplifying norms, and fostering entrepreneurship, investment and employment.

“Brazil is relatively closed to foreign trade, and changing this condition is one of the main commitments of this government”, said Bolsonaro. He also assured that, before he leaves office, Brazil would be one of the 50 best countries to do business with. According to the World Bank, Brazil currently occupies the 109^th position among 190 countries.

The president also said that the government aims at integrating Brazil to the rest of the world, by incorporating international best practices, such as the ones adopted and promoted by OECD. He promised to open the economy and deepen commercial relations with other countries.

Source: G1, Folha de São Paulo, Exame, CNBC, CNN, and other publications