President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva used a campaign rally in Porto Alegre, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, on Friday night (Sept. 11) to link banker Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master, to the government of Jair Bolsonaro. It was Lula's first visit to the state since the official start of his reelection campaign, 23 days before the first round, according to Brasil de Fato.
The remark came as the president spoke about alleged benefit fraud at the INSS, Brazil's social security institute, which is being examined by a joint congressional inquiry known as a CPMI. G1 reported that it was the only moment in which Lula addressed the Banco Master scandal during his trip. He said the following about the previous administration:
"They created a banker named Vorcaro in 2019. In their time, the criminal became a banker. In my term, he became a prisoner, because it was the biggest scam in this country's history."
The Master case
Vorcaro is in jail and is a central target of Supreme Court (STF) investigations into the bank. According to the Federal Police, two Central Bank officials took bribes to advise the banker in meetings with the institution. On the same Friday, Justice André Mendonça of the STF unsealed new case documents that mention Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate and son of the former president, as well as Ciro Nogueira and Jaques Wagner, G1 reported.
The state visit and the election
The rally was held at Largo Glênio Peres, in downtown Porto Alegre, with Juliana Brizola, the PDT candidate for governor, her running mate Edegar Pretto of Lula's Workers Party (PT), and Senate candidates Paulo Pimenta and Manuela D'Ávila sharing the stage, according to Brasil de Fato. Lula spoke about education, protection of women and national sovereignty, praised the legacy of Leonel Brizola and asked for votes for allied candidates.
Earlier, in the city of Canoas, Lula signed the transfer of 1.5 billion reais in federal funds for drainage works, part of a 6.5 billion reais package under the New PAC infrastructure program for recovery from the 2024 floods, according to Poder360. At that event, he interrupted Governor Eduardo Leite as Leite compared state projects to the São Francisco river diversion. "Because I don't want a comparison," the president replied.
The first round of the election is set for Oct. 4. A Datafolha poll released on Friday put Lula at 39 percent of first-round voting intentions against 35 percent for Flávio Bolsonaro, with a statistical tie in a runoff (46 to 44). At the Supreme Court, the justices remain split over how much of the Master case file should be made public.