Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro will present an image of Brazil in the 49th World Economic Forum in Davos which will attempt to lure foreign investment in the country.
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This will be the maiden foreign visit of the president who took office on Jan. 1. He is scheduled to arrive in Switzerland Monday for the forum which will take place from Jan. 22 to Jan. 25.
He is accompanied by Paulo Guedes, the finance minister; Ernesto Araujo, the minister of foreign affairs; and Sergio Moro, minister of justice and public safety. In his absence, Vice President General Hamilton Mourao will take over the reins of the administration.
Bolsonaro's 10-minute speech is scheduled for Wednesday, and he will also highlight efforts to simplify the economy while pledging to provide legal clarity to investors.
Bolsonaro’s economic plan has already been criticized by progressives, especially his plan to open up the Amazon to foreign investors and commercial use threatening the Indigenous people who live there and the environment.
The president is also expected to comment on the situation in neighboring Venezuela, which is facing United States-imposed sanctions and growing international pressure against the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro.
On Tuesday night, Bolsonaro will have a private dinner with other participating South American presidents, namely, Colombian President Ivan Duque, Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra, and Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
The World Economic Forum is a platform where CEOs of multinational companies meet with world leaders to discuss the global economy, commodity prices, and environmental issues. This is also a platform where leaders try to sell their's country's business friendly image to these corporations for business and foreign investment.
The first economic forum was held in 1971, and was named the European Management Forum before changing it to its current nomenclature in 1987.
This year’s theme is "Globalization 4.0: Shaping a New Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution" which will see discussions on the latest industrial revolution aided by technology.