Flávio Bolsonaro dinners spark debate over business elite ties

In an article for Piauí magazine titled ‘O que esses brasileiros sabem’, João Moreira Salles discusses the proximity between sectors of the Brazilian economic elite and the political project of the Bolsonaro family. Salles identifies several prominent business leaders and executives who attended dinners with Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, suggesting these meetings serve to provide political legitimacy to his potential candidacy.

In response to the article, former minister and corporate executive Pedro Parente published a letter on LinkedIn clarifying his presence at a dinner held on August 27. Parente stated that he attended the meeting to hear a potential presidential candidate firsthand, but concluded that he left with a worse impression than when he arrived. He explicitly declared, ‘I will not vote for him,’ and emphasized that his attendance did not constitute political support.

Salles’s text also touches upon the January 8 attacks, arguing that members of the business elite were aware of the gravity of the plans directed against the Brazilian government and the Supreme Federal Court.