RIO DE JANEIRO--Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former Army captain who won Brazil's presidential weekend election, said on Monday he would press ahead with loosening gun laws this year and planned to visit Washington D.C. after a friendly call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro, who early in his legislative career declared he was "in favour" of dictatorships and demanded that Congress be disbanded, has vowed to adhere to democratic principles while holding up a copy of the country's constitution.
Trump said he had an "excellent call" congratulating Bolsonaro and tweeted about their plans to "work closely together on trade, military and everything else!"
Investors were quick to cheer Bolsonaro's victory, sending Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index to an all-time high in early trading before stock prices fell as traders booked profits following a sharp rally this month. Markets had surged on Bolsonaro's ascent in opinion polls, as he pledged to quickly close Brazil's gaping budget deficit and privatize state firms. Investors said further gains will hinge on clearer signs he can deliver on a market-friendly agenda.
His election alarmed critics around the globe, however, given his defense of Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, vows to sweep away leftist political opponents, and a track record of denigrating comments about gays, women and minorities. Bolsonaro's victory brings Brazil's military back into the political limelight after it spent three decades in the barracks following the country's return to civilian rule. Several retired generals will serve as ministers and close advisers.
"You are all my witnesses that this government will defend the constitution, of liberty and of God," Bolsonaro said in a Facebook live video in his first comments after his victory.
The president-elect's future chief of staff told Reuters his first international trip would be to Chile, another South American nation that swung to the political right in recent elections, and soon after that he hoped to visit the United States. An outspoken Trump admirer, Bolsonaro also vowed to realign Brazil with more advanced economies, such as the United States, overhauling diplomatic priorities after nearly a decade and a half of leftist party rule.
Bolsonaro won the presidential race handily despite scarce campaign resources and no support from major parties as he tapped into Brazilians' anger over corruption and crime. In a Monday night interview with TV Record, Bolsonaro offered some of his first concrete measures on both fronts.
Bolsonaro said he would press Brazil's Congress to loosen the country's restrictive gun laws this year, before he even takes office on January 1. He reiterated that more widespread gun ownership would limit crime, although critics worry it could add to Brazil's tally of nearly 64,000 homicides last year, the highest in the world.
Bolsonaro also said he wants to nominate the crusading anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro to be his justice minister or the newest member of the Supreme Court. Moro, who has overseen the "Car Wash" trials that sent scores of powerful politicians and businessmen to jail including former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old former paratrooper, joins a list of populist, right-wing figures to win elections in recent years that include Trump, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Trump's friendly call augurs closer political ties between the two largest economies in the Americas, both now led by conservative populists promising to overturn the political establishment.
In a telephone call on Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro discussed collaboration on priority foreign policy issues, including Venezuela, tackling transnational crime and ways to strengthen economic ties. Bolsonaro has vowed to increase pressure on Venezuela's authoritarian leftist government to hold free elections that could stem the flow of refugees into neighboring Brazil and Colombia, also governed by a conservative president.
