Le Monde: Bolsonaro does the bare minimum to sell a new Brazil in Davos.
An article published this Tuesday (22), in the French newspaper Le Monde, assesses that the speech of the Brazilian president at the opening of the World Economic Forum, on Tuesday, should not go down in history, like those of some of his predecessors; the author is yet another journalist from the international press to point out the poverty of Bolsonaro's speech; translation by Sylvie Giraud
247, by Marie de Vergès, in Le Monde - What will remain of Jair Bolsonaro's first international speech, the newly elected president of Brazil? Invited to speak at the opening of the 49th World Economic Forum on Tuesday, January 22nd, in Davos (Switzerland), the leader settled for the bare minimum: a presentation completed in less than fifteen minutes and punctuated with an invitation to come and "discover" Brazil, its beaches and its Amazon rainforest...
Brazil's new strongman had reserved the Grisons resort for his first trip abroad. Nicknamed the "Trump of the tropics" for his populist discourse wrapped in liberalism, Bolsonaro aroused a certain curiosity. An interest reinforced by the defections of other big names, such as US President Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, or British Prime Minister Theresa May, too busy managing national crises to travel to the Swiss Alps.
Unsurprisingly, the Brazilian president went to great lengths to sell foreign investors a "new Brazil." "We enjoy the credibility we need to carry out the reforms the world expects of us," he said in a martial tone, before listing, while rapidly enumerating, the economic promises of his campaign that had won him the sympathy of Brazilian business leaders: pension reform, reduction of the tax burden, reduction of regulatory barriers, reduction of the size of the state...
"Invest heavily in security"
The former military officer was also eager to deliver a speech that matched the expectations of an audience that would be expressing its views on the consequences of global warming in numerous panels. Thus, the solution he found for his already infamous climate skepticism, as some had anticipated, was: "We are the country that most preserves the environment," he argued, before insisting, in total opposition to his campaign statements, that the issue was "in tune with economic development."
Without taking his eyes off the notes brought to the stage by an aide, the Brazilian president dodged questions posed by the Forum's organizer, Klaus Schwab, omitting details of his upcoming reforms and thus risking fueling the prevailing opinion about the amateurism of the former infantry captain who once confessed to "understanding nothing about economics." As if to compensate, he cited the leading figures of his government: the former anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro, appointed to the Ministry of Justice. But also Paulo Guedes, the liberal economics minister trained at the University of Chicago, thanks to whom Bolsonaro became the darling of the markets.
As for the rest, true to his conservative beliefs, the leader promised to "invest heavily in security" and "defend the family, true human rights, and life." And although he declared that he would govern without ideological bias, Bolsonaro harshly criticized leftist governments in the Americas, stating that they "are not good for the continent and are not good for the world."
Weakly applauded by a packed hall, Bolsonaro is unlikely to make his mark on the annals of the Davos Forum like some of his predecessors, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and his defense of globalization in 2017. "He was content to say things that might please this audience, without taking much risk," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit and familiar with the Forum.
Translation by Sylvie Giraud