INDIA’S REPUBLIC DAY CHIEF GUEST- JAIR BOLSONARO DISHA GUPTA News Updates Tue, Nov 19, 2019, at ,11:16 AM Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to become the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations 2020. Modi has reached Brazil to attend the 11th BRICS Summit. Modi met with Bolsonaro on the sidelines of this summit. BRICS is a group of five emerging economies in the world which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This BRICS summit was focused on creating mechanisms for counter-terrorism cooperation and strengthens India's relations with the world's five major economies. The two leaders held meaningful talks to strengthen bilateral relations. PM Modi said that he looks forward to discussing business-related opportunities with Brazil. He also welcomed potential investment from Brazil during Bolsonaro’s visit. Modi said that he looked forward to discussing matters relating to trade. He also outlined areas for potential investment from Brazil, including in areas of agricultural equipment, animal husbandry, post-harvest technologies, and biofuels. The President of Brazil expressed his readiness and told Prime Minister Modi that a large business delegation would accompany him to India. Both the leaders also discussed cooperation in various areas including space and defense sectors. PM Modi also welcomed the President's decision to make visa-free travel arrangements for Indian citizens. Over this issue, some argued that New Delhi was inviting a “far-Right bigot” for the celebrations. Critics of the central government’s decision also have a robust set of evidence to back their claims. In 1999, Bolsonaro had called for the assassination of former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Again, in 2003, he had told a fellow female legislator that he won’t rape her because she “doesn’t deserve it”. His offensive comments have been steadfast. In 2011, Bolsonaro said he would rather have his son die in an accident than come out as a homosexual. And as recently as 2017, the president had remarked that “a policeman who doesn’t kill isn’t a policeman”. Such statements have also created the impression that Bolsonaro is part of the global nationalist-populist wave. But to look at him from such a lens is only a reductive exercise. ABOUT JAIR BOLSONARO: Jair Messias Bolsonaro is a 38th president of Brazil. He joined the politics in 1988 as a city councilor in Rio De Janerio. He took over the office as the President of Brazil on January 1, 2019. Bolsonaro joined the military in 1973 and slowly rose up the ranks. Almost a decade after joining the military, he rose to fame in 1986 after writing an article in the country’s prestigious magazine Veja. In the piece, he berated about low military salaries. Bolsonaro was subsequently imprisoned for 15 days but this jail term helped kick-start his political career. By 1989, he was elected to the city council of Rio and became a congressman (legislator) by 1991. His rhetoric, often laced with bigotry and homophobia, earned him the reputation of a radical conservative. In as recently as 2017, when he contested the elections for the post of speaker in Brazil’s lower house, Bolsonaro managed to get only four votes. Finally, he was elected Brazil’s president in January 2019.