Business Group Now Endorses pro-Bolsonaro Rally on Sunday

By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazil 200 Institute, a business movement led by Flávio Rocha, owner of retailer Riachuelo, decided to publicly support the demonstrations in defense of President Jair Bolsonaro scheduled for Sunday, May 26th.

The group, bringing together businessmen sympathetic to the government, such as Luciano Hang (owner of Havan) and João Appolinário (Polishop), at first encouraged participation only reluctantly, but then changed their position, said Gabriel Rocha Kanner.

“We were against it because the demonstration emerged with an unclear agenda attacking institutions and favoring the shutdown of Congress. We’re against any revolutionary argument. We believe that changes need to be introduced by institutions,” he said.

According to him, however, the agenda has “evolved”, and the demonstrations will now include issues defended by Brazil 200: “The demonstrations are an organic phenomenon and are gaining momentum. We defend Social Security reform, administrative reform and the anti-crime package of Sérgio Moro, so we will provide our support,” he said.

According to Kanner, this happened in 2013, when protests for the increase in bus fares widened into protests against corruption. Or demonstrations for impeachment, which started with people calling for military intervention.

Kanner will be on Avenida Paulista and said that others would also take to the streets in the country, such as Luciano Hang. However, he denied that the president’s administration or party representatives had formally asked Brasil 200 to support demonstrations.

The organization, defining itself as non-partisan, opened an office in Brasilia to lobby for liberal policies and has federal Deputy Joice Hasselmann (PSL-SP) as coordinator of its parliamentary front.

A businessman very close to Bolsonaro, speaking without attribution, said that some executives are still evaluating whether they will indeed attend the rally, as the president stated that he does not formally support it.

He said he feared his presence would be confused with Bolsonaro’s direct endorsement of demonstrations.

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