Latin American Economy & Business - January 2019

The São Paulo Bovespa stock index is one of the best performing in the world in 2019. Shortly after the inauguration of Jair Bolsonaro it entered record territory and has risen around seven percent so far in January, while the real has strengthened around two percent since the start of the year. Investors are buying into the traditional optimism that characterises the start of a presidential term, as well as the promises that Bolsonaro has made to liberalise Brazil’s notoriously closed economy. But with congress yet to start work, can this optimism survive contact with Brazil’s fractious politics?