RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reversed course Monday and decided to send an official representative to neighbouring Argentina’s presidential inauguration ceremony. In recent months, the left-leaning Fernández and the far-right Bolsonaro have traded barbs in the press stemming from their ideological differences. Bolsonaro’s decision not to attend personally will be the first time in 17 years that a Brazilian head of state has not attended a presidential inauguration in Argentina, which is Brazil’s third largest trading partner. Argentina is Brazil’s biggest trading partner after China and the U.S., and the main export destination for Brazilian manufactured products. But Brazil is Argentina’s top trading partner, and Bolsonaro feels that gives him leverage, said Rafael Saliés, an independent political risk consultant.

Source: thestar December 09, 2019 23:26 UTC