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Reuters

Far-right former army captain Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil on Sunday, beating leftist opponent Fernando Haddad in a runoff election after a polarised campaign.
“We will change Brazil’s destiny together,” he said in his victory speech. Here are some of his main policy objectives:
Tackle corruption
After the biggest corruption scandal in Brazil’s history swept through the political class in the past four years – helping to secure Bolsonaro’s election – the former army captain has pledged to tackle widespread graft in public life.
He has said he will encourage further corruption investigations and end horse-trading between the government and political parties, which has been a major source of back room deals and patronage.
Bolsonaro has pledged to reduce the number of ministries in Brasilia from 29 to 15 and appoint several retired generals to the cabinet.
Privatisations
Bolsonaro has pledged to privatise an array of state enterprises, including units of oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) and power utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (Eletrobras).
However, the extent to which the state controls their core activities is still a matter of debate between his top economic adviser, pro-privatisation Paulo Guedes, and the retired generals who backed his presidential bid.
Right-wing ‘Tropical Trump’ is Brazil’s new president
Reform pensions
Bolsonaro has said he will reform Brazil’s costly pension system in order to reduce Brazil’s unsustainable budget deficit – an important symbolic pledge for many investors.
However, Bolsonaro has not been clear about the details of his plan other than saying it would differ from the outgoing government’s proposal. He has also proposed a tax overhaul, including a flat income tax and lower payroll taxes.
Crackdown on crime
A signature campaign promise was Bolsonaro’s pledge to tackle rising crime and violence in Brazilian cities by giving the police more autonomy to open fire on suspected criminals.
In a country with more than 60,000 gun deaths a year, Bolsonaro wants to amend Brazil’s gun laws to make it easier for Brazilians to arm themselves.
He also aims to involve the federal government more actively in public security, for which state governments are traditionally responsible. He has said he wants to use the army for routine patrols of city streets – something some senior military officers are wary of.
Video captures shocking moment Bolsonaro is stabbed
Shift in foreign policy
China has emerged as Brazil’s largest trading partner in recent years – with US$75 billion in bilateral trade last year – yet Bolsonaro has depicted Beijing as a predator looking to dominate key economic areas.
Bolsonaro is content with China purchasing Brazil’s commodities, like soy. But the 63-year-old has pledged to halt China’s recent shopping spree in Brazil’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
He has also pledged to reshape Brazil’s foreign policy, which steered away from the United States under 13 years of the leftist Workers Party. An outspoken admirer of US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has said he aims to improve ties with Washington.
Following Trump’s nationalist agenda, he has pledged to diminish Brazil’s engagement with regional blocs like Mercosur and pursue bilateral relations. He has also said he would move the Brazilian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and shutter a Palestinian embassy in Brasilia.
Prioritise agriculture, mining
A close ally of Brazil’s powerful farm lobby, Bolsonaro has pledged to halt invasions of agricultural land by native tribes and landless peasant movements. He also wants to end the demarcation of additional indigenous reservations while allowing mining and other commercial activity on native lands.
However, in recent days Bolsonaro backed off an initial pledge to pull Brazil out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
He has also wavered on plans to combine the agriculture and environment ministries, which was originally proposed as a way to ease pressure on farmers on Brazil’s fast-expanding agricultural frontier. Environmentalists fear such a move could lead to looser environmental regulations.


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From China to crime, Jair Bolsonaro plots radical new course for Brazil

The following are some of his main policy objectives

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s new president. Photo: AFP

Beijing nervous about Brazil’s China-bashing presidential candidate, Jair Bolsonaro

Brazilian presidential front runner Jair Bolsonaro has portrayed China, its largest trading partner, as a predator looking to dominate key sectors of its economy. Photo: AP

Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press during a visit to the Federal Police station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 17, 2018. - Bolsonaro and his leftist rival Fernando Haddad will compete in a run-off election on October 28. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)

FILE PHOTO: A combine harvester cuts sugar cane in a field at the Sao Martinho sugar mill in Pradopolis, Brazil September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo

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The following are some of his main policy objectives



Brazil’s far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro won Sunday’s election pledging a radically new direction in policy, ranging from a crackdown on crime and reducing the role of the state in the economy, to easing the development of indigenous lands.


Explainers

From China to crime, Jair Bolsonaro plots radical new course for Brazil

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The following are some of his main policy objectives

Tackle corruption

Privatisations

The following are some of his main policy objectives