Bolsonarista caravans of 7 de Setembro are sponsored by businessmen and right-wing movements

Sponsored by businessmen or subsidized by right-wing movements, many of the caravans for September 7 began to be organized months ago and intend to take thousands to Brasília, Rio and São Paulo to show support for President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Many offer free buses, financed by businessmen, or at a price well below that charged by commercial vehicles.

From Bauru (SP), for example, a caravan will leave for Avenida Paulista with 230 people, in five buses, according to Everton Borges, one of the organizers, alongside Fátima Pletti. “The price of the ticket is R$ 120 round trip” said Borges.

“But we managed to close five buses, two private buses, and three buses from business donations”, he says. With that, they are offering three free buses to protesters — and two paid ones.

Water bottles were also donated for people to carry in their purses for the demonstration.

Asked if he was part of any movement, Borges said: “We don’t belong to any organization, we are patriots of WhatsApp groups”.

A similar ticket in commercial vehicles does not cost less than R$ 240 round trip.

Engineer Diego Formenti, president of the Patriotas Itapira group, helped organize a caravan with four buses bound for Avenida Paulista. “For free, 46 people on each bus,” he said. “Going of my own free will. And I have 30 more people on the waiting list.”

Formenti also got donations “from businessmen who prefer not to identify themselves.” “We arranged sponsorship for three buses, and the fourth was a crowdfunding”, she said. The freight for each bus was R$ 2,800, according to him.

The engineer still had hopes that President Bolsonaro would appear at Paulista, although the president only confirmed his presence in Brasília and Rio. “I am convinced that the president will. He spoke of the importance of people taking to the streets for the last time.”

According to Formenti, the purpose of going to Paulista is to ask for democracy, respect for freedom of expression and to show indignation with the STF. “Toga is the rule in Brazil today.”

Much of the call for the 7th of September and for the organization of the caravans was made through social networks.

According to a survey by Palver, a technology company that monitors more than 15,000 public WhatsApp groups and conducts analysis, messages with calls to caravans peaked on September 2, with 73 out of 200,000 messages addressing the subject. By comparison, it was 5 out of 200,000 on August 5th.

As for Crowdtangle, Facebook posts calling for caravans on September 7 peaked on August 27, with 1,500 interactions, and on the same date on Instagram, with 1,900 interactions.

A list that circulates through WhatsApp and Telegram groups states that there are 240 buses, 7 minibuses and 6 vans confirmed for Avenida Paulista. When contacted, the person responsible for registering the caravans declined to speak with the reporter.

Calculating by the occupation of about 40 people per bus (below the maximum capacity), 22 in minibuses and 12 in each van, it would be a total of 9,826 people heading to Avenida Paulista.

In the list that provides contacts for the caravans, the organizers warn: “The president called mainly for PAULISTA,_ _but those who can’t,_ go to Brasília or Copacabana (RJ) before anywhere else.”

They also give advice on parking places and tips on how to organize caravans. “Bring banners in English, Spanish, French and other languages ​​with the full date. _The pictures of your posters will go to newspapers around the world._ REMEMBER it is not a party, _we are going to “fight” for our freedom and against communism! _Example:_ _”WE TRUST ARMED FORCES”_
_(they know what to do to have clean elections,_ our intervention was already made democratic by the vote in 2018, _we just have to_ trust and show that we really believe in them)”.

At least 180 people will leave Uberlândia in buses heading to Brasília, subsidized by movements such as Direita Minas and Voluntários Uberlândia. “We started organizing a month ago through crowdfunding and help from supporters”, said Janaína, one of the organizers, by WhatsApp.

The ticket for the round-trip Uberlândia Brasília caravan costs R$100 – well below the normal price for a similar ticket, which is R$300 round trip by executive bus.

Recently, organizers sent a WhatsApp message celebrating: “Guys, we got some investors to finance part of our caravan to Brasilia on 7SET22, so we managed to reduce the value of the bus.”

In a caravan from Porto Alegre, about 380 people will face 36 hours of travel in ten buses to participate in the September 7 demonstration in Brasília. The ticket costs R$ 650, with snacks in the vehicle included.

“Soon we will celebrate for living without interference between the powers”, said a message from Marcelo Buhler, leader of the Direita Parobé movement. A return ticket from Porto Alegre to Brasília costs, on average, R$ 800, in a bus without a bed.

According to Buhler, the caravan began to be organized in March of this year and there was no sponsorship. “Each passenger is responsible for their own costs, we didn’t make a donation and we don’t have sponsors. If there is any collaboration between passengers, it has not come to our attention.”

From Nova Mutum alone (MT), an agricultural city, four buses left for Brasília, with 170 people. According to Zequina Duffeck, a pro-Bolsonaro activist, the caravan is full of people linked to agriculture, but there is no large company at the head of the entourage.

“People are going and paying of their own free will. Many were able to negotiate a day off because at that time the agro is more peaceful”, he said.

Activist Reggiane Otero, who helped organize Lucas do Rio Verde’s caravan, near Nova Mutum, says that agro businessmen and traders helped with donations to the caravan, without specifying how much.

“They donated, but that doesn’t mean that the people who are going don’t have the financial means to pay,” he said, adding that “he’s never seen anything like it” being done by the president.