
Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday his election had freed the country from “socialism and political correctness,” and he vowed to tackle corruption, crime and economic mismanagement in Latin America’s largest nation.

Authorities in Brazil say they are making massive security preparations for the inauguration of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Jan. 1. Security around the future president has been high since he was stabbed with a knife on Sept. 6, causing a ruptured intestine.

Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Friday in Rio de Janeiro and sealed an alliance between the two countries, although moving the embasy to Jerusalem was reportedly not on the table. Bolsonaro presented Netanyahu with the highest national decoration for visitors in Brazil, granted in the past to former US President Dwight Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth.

Brazil’s Petrobras has approved a hedging program for diesel prices in a bid to boost pricing flexibility, the state-run oil firm said in a filing on Friday. While Petrobras did not detail how its diesel hedging program would be structured, it said the move was similar to a measure taken in September, when the company introduced a hedging program for gasoline.

An Arab ministerial delegation plans to travel to Brazil in January to convince the incoming Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, not to relocate his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an official Palestinian source said on Thursday. Bolsonaro announced in November that he intends to relocate the Brazilian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left on a historic six-day trip to Brazil, the first ever visit the largest Latin American country made by a sitting premier of the Jewish state. Besides boosting diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries, Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a one-to-one meeting with president-elect Jair Bolsonaro this Friday in Rio de Janeiro.

Outgoing President Michel Temer issued an executive order that allows foreign groups to own 100% of a Brazilian airline. Previously, non-Brazilians were limited to 20% of shares. The decision occurs in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding filed by Avianca Brasil.

Favorable international demand and a recent discovery of lithium reserves in Brazil caused a rush for the metal, used in electrical batteries, reports the Folha de Sao Paulo. Two ongoing projects will elevate Brazil to the status of one of the world's largest lithium-producing countries in the next decade, according to data from the National Agency for Mining, ANM..

After defaults in Mozambique, Venezuela, and Cuba the Brazilian government froze credit lines for new exports, a measure that will affect mostly small and medium-sized businesses. The Brazilian Treasury Department will spend US$ 6 million to reimburse BNDES (National Bank For Economic and Social Development) for Cuba's default

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will cut a visit to Brazil short, skipping incoming President Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration.