Businessmen solicit donations for Bolsonaro's campaign in the names of Flávio and Valdemar, and rural landowners complain.
The group claims to be acting on behalf of Valdemar Costa Neto, one of the leaders of the Centrão bloc and president of the PL party, the party of Jair Bolsonaro, and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
247 - A group of business leaders has moved ahead of the election period and is soliciting contributions from agribusiness representatives for Jair Bolsonaro's (PL) reelection campaign. According to the newspaper... The state of Sao PauloThe group claims to be acting on behalf of Valdemar Costa Neto, president of the PL party and one of the leaders of the Centrão bloc, and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PP-RJ), one of the coordinators of the Bolsonaro campaign.
The request, however, generated apprehension since Costa Neto was convicted and imprisoned for passive corruption and money laundering, and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation for suspected involvement in a "rachadinha" scheme involving the salaries of his office staff when he was a state deputy for Rio de Janeiro. The approaches were allegedly made through messaging applications, such as WhatsApp.
"It was there that the first requests arrived, made more forcefully by Bruno Scheid, a cattle ranch manager in Ji-Paraná (RO). Also involved were cattle rancher Adriano Caruso, from São José do Rio Preto (SP), affiliated with the PL party, and Cuiabano Lima, rodeo announcer and Secretary of Tourism of Barretos (SP)," the report highlights.
According to the text, the exchange of messages occurred between February 5th and 21st of this year, and the "fundraisers spread the word about a possible meeting between rural landowners and Bolsonaro at the beginning of this month to discuss issues in the sector. The meeting was allegedly being arranged by the Presidency. Rural landowners willing to contribute to the campaign would be invited to an event on the same day in Brasília, with the presence of Costa Neto and Flávio."
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) allows collective fundraising, starting in May, through crowdfunding websites, with individual donations. Subsequently, the funds must be included in the campaign finance report, and candidates only receive the resources if their candidacy is confirmed.
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