Tarcísio hugged and kissed the coup plotters on the mouth.

"Bizarre" was the adjective used by members of the Supreme Federal Court when commenting on the initiative of the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, to contact ministers of the Court requesting authorization for the ineligible candidate – accused of attempting a coup against the Democratic Rule of Law – to travel to the United States for a supposed meeting with the billionaire American president.

I would say that the movements sponsored by Tarcísio are laughable. Juvenile. Mediocre, even. It's important to highlight: he only started worrying about the disaster that the BolsoTaxa represents – created by Trump with the encouragement of Brazilian allies, with Eduardo Bolsonaro as spokesperson on American soil – after being pressured by the São Paulo elite, who, rightly so, are concerned about the billions in losses that the measure will cause to São Paulo's exports: coffee, orange juice, airplanes, among others.

Tarcísio always tried to find a balance, holding the hand of extremists on one side, and leaning on the shoulders of centrists on the other. Now, it seems to me, he has fully embraced the coup plotters – and not just embraces: he's exchanged passionate kisses. Not content with the bizarre phone call to Supreme Court justices, he behaved like the most submissive of mongrels by sucking up to members of the second tier of the American embassy in Brasília – who have as much influence on the diplomatic process as the kit man has on the team's lineup.

To make matters worse, his attempt to recover politically – after posing as a Trump fan and sporting a MAGA hat – was thwarted by Bolsonaro Sr., who refused to accompany him on a visit to the embassy, ​​and even earned him a public reprimand from the US by his son, Eduardo. On his social media, Eduardo made it clear that the real objective behind the "BolsoTaxa" (a play on words combining Bolsonaro's name with "tax") is to guarantee safe passage for his father to escape justice for attempted coups and other crimes for which he may be convicted.

What sums up these last two days in the image of the governor of São Paulo? If there was any doubt about Tarcísio's closeness to the coup plotters, it has been dispelled. His actions left his fingerprints very clearly on the entire scheme – present, and perhaps past. It also laid bare his weakness as governor of São Paulo, his institutional inadequacy. Faced with the attack on the São Paulo economy, he did not react immediately. He preferred to hide, applaud Trump, and passively watch the construction of the BolsoTaxa (a proposed tax). He only emerged from his hiding place, I insist, after being pressured by business sectors and realizing that the political and electoral damage would be significant.

But he miscalculated. He planned poorly. He embarrassed himself and, in the midst of exchanging kisses with the con artists, his mask slipped.