Retailers disembarked from Semana Brasil, a campaign launched by the Bolsonaro government in 2019 to encourage a season of nationalist-themed promotions in September in an attempt to boost sales.
The event, which ended up being nicknamed the yellow-green Black Friday, disappeared from the malls. Among the few stores that made reference to the date in their windows this year are the fashion chain Brooksfield, the perfumery Opaque and the footwear World Tennis.
There is a great movement of promotions in the malls this week, however, without mentioning the colors of the Brazilian flag in the ads.
At the Pátio Paulista mall, Ancar Ivanhoe, the establishment’s manager, calls its discount event this week Sale Week. The word week appears in yellow in the ads, but the company says it’s an old campaign, unrelated to the September 7 holiday.
Stores owned by entrepreneurs more aligned with President Bolsonaro since the beginning of the government, such as Riachuelo, by Flávio Rocha, and Polishop, by João Appolinário, also did not join the Brazil Week.
Big retail names like Renner, Americanas, Carrefour, Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Magalu, Casas Bahia and Extra say they will not participate.
Sought by the SA Panel, Ablos (association of satellite shopkeepers of malls) did not comment on the case. The IDV (Institute for Retail Development), which disseminates promotional material to its member stores, claims that the campaign is just an incentive, but the decision is up to each company. ACSP (Commercial Association of São Paulo) also says it supports it because it considers it important for the economy and the sector.
This year, by decision of the president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), the federal government was prevented from acting in the dissemination of Brazil Week due to the electoral period. The decision does not prevent the private sector from campaigning, but representatives of the business sector say that the measure weakened the willingness of shopkeepers.
Another reason for the sinking of the green-yellow Black Friday, which had already been happening since last year, is the polarization and association with Bolsonarista movements.
Joana Cunha with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix
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