Former Federal Revenue Secretary Marcos Cintra, who is one of the members of the WhatsApp group revealed by the Metrópoles portal this Wednesday (17) with messages from Bolsonarista businessmen, says that there was never any coup articulation in the dialogue of the participants.
He says that the group is more of a space for “chatting,” with commentary on politics, economics and the news.
According to Cintra, who is vice president of the União Brasil presidential ticket, this is not a group of people interested in a common objective or in sectoral issues. The leader of his party signaled opposition to Jair Bolsonaro in an eventual second round.
“As in any other group, there are always those who are more active, more present. At a certain point, the conversation turned to this business [menção a golpe]”, says Cintra.
He claims he doesn’t read the messages often, but was surprised to hear the news.
“I was surprised when I saw the article saying that it has been following it for a long time, implying that this is a recurring theme within this group. I don’t follow it much. But I only saw people talking about this topic three or four days ago, when it exploded and it went viral. It seems that someone made this comment that they would rather have a coup against Lula or the PT. But it ended, and no one commented anything else. One or the other laughed and continued anyway,” he says.
According to Metrópole, José Koury, owner of Barra World Shopping (RJ), would have said that the installation of a dictatorship would not bring economic losses and another businessman would have written that the coup must have happened in the first days of government.
Cintra says that the group gathers diverse opinions and is very critical of the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
According to him, after the repercussion, the case was treated as a joke within the group.
“What worries me is: someone says something like that at a bar table. Suddenly, it becomes a matter that is broadcast to millions of people. A senator of the Republic makes a petition to the STF to open a process with breach of confidentiality and imprisonment What kind of society are we living in? And the impact that things have in such an intolerant environment in Brazil, transforming these entrepreneurs into subversives, into people plotting against the Republic and proposing a coup?”, he says.
Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP) took a petition to the STF this Thursday (18) to investigate the case.
Joana Cunha with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
