Bolsonaro and businessmen prepare for meeting with Elon Musk

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and businessmen are preparing for a meeting, this Friday (20), with billionaire Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX.

The event, called “Conecta Amazônia”, is scheduled to take place in a luxury hotel in the interior of São Paulo and should have the participation of the Chief Executive. Entrepreneurs from various fields, such as telecommunications, finance and energy, were also invited to attend.

Government officials consulted by the Sheet say that preparations have been made to welcome the billionaire. The presence of Musk, owner of a fortune valued at US$ 230 billion, however, has not been officially confirmed.

During his presidential live this Thursday (19), Bolsonaro said he would have a meeting “with a person recognized around the world, who comes to help our Amazon”. He did not name Musk by name.

The news that Bolsonaro’s meeting would be with the billionaire was published by the newspaper O Globo.

According to people who follow the theme, advisers of some of the invited businessmen expressed fear that the event could become a political act by Bolsonaro.

They highlighted that the fields of activity of many of the guests are not related to the topic of connectivity in the Amazon and that, therefore, there is a risk that the meeting will be used as a political promotion for the representative.

In November last year, the Minister of Communications, Fábio Faria, had a meeting with Musk in which he discussed the possibility of a partnership to install internet in remote areas of Brazil using low-altitude satellite technology.

Faria’s meeting with the businessman took place in the United States. “Soon, Elon Musk will be in Brazil to connect rural schools and protect the Amazon using SpaceX/Starlink technology,” Faria wrote on social media at the time.

Recently, Musk announced the purchase of Twitter for $44 billion. Last week, however, the businessman temporarily suspended the agreement to acquire the platform. He later stated in a post on the social network that he is still committed to the acquisition.

When the purchase was announced, Bolsonaro’s allies celebrated the entrepreneur’s initiative. Deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF), for example, said that the purchase was an important step in the “fight for freedoms”.

Faria, in turn, congratulated Musk in a text published on social media. “Once again you are two steps ahead of the other players and now makes a gesture to the world and in defense of freedom”.