Bolsonaro’s trips in the electoral campaign cost R$ 7.8 million

The trips of then-president Jair Bolsonaro during the official election campaign period cost at least R$ 7.8 million to public coffers. Most of it was spent on leasing vehicles for the land transport of the presidential entourage and security guards – R$ 3.4 million. The president’s corporate cards paid expenses in the amount of R$ 1.9 million, most of which with lodging and food for the security guards. Tickets and per diem for security guards and advisors cost over R$ 2.6 million.

The data for each presidential trip was obtained by the blog through the Access to Information Act. But the Presidency of the Republic only informed the date, destination and type of expense (vehicles, cards, per diem and tickets) of each trip. The blog analyzed the president’s trips from August 16 to October 30, almost all of them for events in the electoral campaign. Even at these events, expenses with security and support staff are paid with public funds. The account is for the taxpayer.

A blog report showed part of the expenses paid for by the then-president Bolsonaro’s corporate cards. The table was plentiful and sophisticated at Palácio da Alvorada, with crayfish, gutted shrimp, desalted cod and other delicacies. The cards also paid for the accommodation of security guards for Michelle and Carlos Bolsonaro and even fuel for a motorcycle rider.

The most expensive trips

The most expensive trip was to São Paulo, on October 23, when Bolsonaro held a rally at the headquarters of the Worldwide Church of the Power of God. He criticized the decree to combat gender inequality, issued by Lula in 2009. He stated that the result would be the “destruction of the family”. The trip cost R$545,000, R$222,000 of which for vehicles, R$195,000 for daily rates and tickets for its support team and R$126,000 for corporate cards.

In early September, the president made two close trips to Rio de Janeiro, his main electoral stronghold. After participating in the September 7 parade in Brasilia, he went to Rio, where a platform was set up on Copacabana beach. Bolsonaro spoke in an aggressive tone: “What was missing for us? We needed to wake up from the lie, from the beautiful words. He returned to Brasília on the 8th, but returned to Rio the following weekend. He was in the naval magazine promoted by the Navy, in an evangelical event in São Gonçalo (RJ) and in an event of the Assembly of God Ministry of Madureira. Finally, he served his most faithful constituency. The two trips cost R$720,000, with R$324,000 paid with corporate cards and R$250,000 with vehicle rental.

The then president went to Manaus to participate in the Manaus 5G Seminar, on September 22nd. But he was also at the rally held by Governor Wilson Lima (União), his ally in the state. The trip cost BRL 451,000, with BRL 226,000 spent on transport vehicles and BRL 173 on daily rates and tickets. On September 27th, he participated in a motociata and motorcade in Petrolina (PE) and Juazeiro (BA), where he took pictures riding a bull. Another R$ 270,000 in the tax payers’ account.

On the 17th of September, he had already visited Caruaru and Garanhuns (PE), in search of the Northeastern votes. He got on an electric trio and gave a speech in Caruaru. He said he was a president who “does not want to release drugs and does not want gender ideology for our children and grandchildren”. He criticized corruption scandals in PT governments. In the afternoon, in Garanhuns, he participated in the March for Jesus. He praised his government’s programs, such as the Auxílio Brasil. A trip to both cities cost R$736,000, with R$362,000 spent on car rental. But he didn’t win the votes he had hoped.

Bikers across the country

On October 8, he spent R$ 295,000 on the trip to Belém, to participate in the Pilgrimage of Círio de Nazaré in a Navy corvette. It was an attempt to get closer to Catholics. The Presidency’s expenses reached R$ 195,000, with R$ 105,000 in tickets and per diem for security and advisors. But he was unlucky. He made a post on social networks to say that he was in Belém participating in the “Sírio de Nazaré”.

The first event of the Bolsonaro campaign in São Paulo took place on August 18, in São José dos Campos. He visited the Technological Park alongside the candidate for governor of São Paulo Tarcísio de Freiras (Republicans), who was elected. The motorbike was not missing. The trip cost R$ 270,000, R$ 111,000 of which with vehicle rental.

On October 1, Bolsonaro participated in a motociata in São Paulo as the last event of the first round of elections. At the same time, motociatas were held in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. The intention was to bring together many followers on the same day to reinforce the “data-people” thesis, in a way of opposing opinion polls, which pointed to Lula’s victory. On the same day, in the afternoon, he participated in a motocarreata in Joinville. The costs of the president’s trip to São Paulo and Joinville reached R$466,000, with R$206,000 spent on vehicle rental.

On August 26, he was at the Festa do Peão Boiadeiro, in Barretos. He didn’t have a motociata, but the president paraded through the main arena on horseback. He made a quick speech with an electoral bias, emphasizing that he ended the “violence” of the Landless Movement (MST), and saluted agribusiness: “You are not just our pride. Without agribusiness, the world is hungry.” The trip cost R$323,000, R$128,000 of which with corporate cards and R$103,000 with vehicle rental. The next day, he left for a motorcycle in Vitória da Conquista (BA). Expenses reached R$365,000, R$168,000 of which for vehicle rental and R$100,000 for corporate cards.

Campaign started at the stabbing site

On August 24, Bolsonaro was once again in Belo Horizonte. He led a motorcycle and made his concentration in Praça da Pambulha. He even fell to the ground. The trip cost R$ 258 thousand. He had held the first official campaign event in Juiz de Fora (MG), on August 16th. He chose the city because that was where he was stabbed by Adélio Bispo, on September 6, 2018. The event took place in the exact location of the attack, at the intersection of Halfeld and Batista de Oliveira streets. Another expense of R$ 180 thousand.

When they don’t have finished works, politicians usually visit works in progress. Bolsonaro went to Foz do Iguaçu, on August 31, to visit the works on the Integration Bridge. He said that Paraguay is of interest to Brazil, for being “democratic and Christian”. He promised to zero taxes on fish feed and to double fish production in the Itaipú lake. The trip cost R$282,000, with R$178,000 spent on per diems and tickets.

On September 23, Bolsonaro held rallies in Divinópolis and Contagem, in Minas Gerais. In Contagem, he compared 2022 to 1964, the year of the military coup that created a 20-year dictatorship. And he asked for wisdom to “deliver the government up front”. In Divinópolis, he tried to show optimism. “We are the majority, we will win in the first round. There is no election without people in the streets”. The two trips cost R$ 290,000.

Perhaps the strongest attacks on Lula took place in Campinas, on September 24, at a rally in Largo do Rosário. “Lula is the greatest thief in the history of mankind. I am a hillbilly from the interior of São Paulo, but I am not ignorant of what this thief is like”, stated the then president. The trip cost R$ 235 thousand.

In search of Northeastern votes

On October 15, a Saturday, Bolsonaro held rallies in Teresina, Fortaleza and São Luís. The trip cost R$492,000, R$240,000 of which with vehicle rental and R$132,000 with corporate cards. At the Santuártio Assemblyano de São Luís, he sent a hint to Lula: “We have values, principles, we have a religion. We believe in God. Some say we shouldn’t talk about elections in religious temples, but we talk about elections today so that tomorrow we can talk about Jesus in our churches”. At the time, fake news claimed that Lula would close temples if he was elected.

In Teresina, Lula used the acronym CPX, used on baseball caps worn by young people in the favelas, to attack Lula. “He didn’t look at the poorest. He only looked at his friends, his criminal associates”. It was then clarified that the acronym would be the abbreviation of “complex”. Two days earlier, in Recife, Bolsonaro apologized for his conduct in fighting the pandemic. He said he did “whatever he could to help fight Covid-19. There was, on my part, some exaggeration in my words. I apologize, but that’s part of the emotion.” Opinion polls showed disapproval of his performance during the pandemic. Expressions like “I’m not a gravedigger” and “little flu” were used a lot in Lula’s campaign.

On October 25, with the election approaching, Bolsonaro was still seeking votes in the Northeast. In just one day, he was in Guanambi and Barreiras. He participated in a motorcade and held a rally at Praça da Feira, in the central region of Guanambi. He asked for votes for the president of União Brasil, ACM Neto, who was running for the state government against the PT. In an interview, he stated: “Look, the opponent of all of Brazil is the PT”. União is now part of the Lula government. That double trip cost R$481,000, R$332,000 of which with vehicles. In the final stretch of the campaign he made another double event in Teófilo Otoni and Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais. Another expense of BRL 271 thousand.

The president’s campaign transport

The electoral legislation establishes the rules for the transportation and security of the President of the Republic who is running for re-election. Expenses with the official transportation of the president and his entourage, in an election campaign, are the responsibility of his political party. But the President of the Republic’s security expenses are paid by the Presidency of the Republic. The Superior Electoral Court Resolution 23.610/2019 says that, “in the transportation of the president in a campaign or electoral event, expenses with the transportation of employees essential for his safety and personal care will be excluded from the obligation to reimburse”.

The Advocacy General of the Union (AGU) is analyzing the possibility of asking for the return of the money used by Bolsonaro through corporate cards during his election campaign, according to columnist Bela Megale, from O Globo. But the amount spent on corporate cards represented only 20% of travel expenses during the campaign funded by the Presidency of the Republic. Expenses with vehicles, tickets and per diem were much heavier.