This year’s World Economic Forum (WEF)—kicking off on January 22 in Davos, Switzerland—is set to be among the most anticlimactic in recent years. Domestic issues have caused major world leaders such as Xi Jinping, Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron, and Narendra Modi to stay at home, while U.S. President Donald Trump chose to pull the country’s entire delegation from the event.
However, for Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro, this year’s WEF could not be more important.
Sworn in on January 1, Mr. Bolsonaro will make his debut on the international stage this week in Davos. He will speak for 45 minutes during the opening ceremony of the WEF, and it will be the first time Mr. Bolsonaro will have the chance to address a global community which has heard plenty about him—and not much of it has been positive.
The importance of the event to Brazil’s new head of state is such that he is bringing the largest Brazilian delegation in recent years along with him—including his “superministers” of Justice and the Economy, Sergio Moro and Paulo Guedes. The envoy will also stay in the alpine Swiss town for four days, which is uncommon for world leaders, who often spend no more than...
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