PSD, MDB and PP lead in donations from individuals – 10/02/2024 – Power

Center-right parties such as PSD, MDB, PP are those that received the most donations from individuals in these elections, according to a survey by Sheet with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).

In the sum of donations made directly to candidates and those made to national, state and municipal party directories, the PSD leads with R$84 million in donations from individuals. Next comes the MDB, with R$78.8 million and the PP with R$56.5 million.

In total, donations from individuals total R$643.5 million, with 89% of this amount (R$577.8 million) going directly to the candidates and the rest to the parties. The analysis considers TSE data updated until Friday (27).

The values ​​will still be updated, as candidates can receive donations until the second round. In the 2020 municipal election, the final value of donations from individuals was R$1.2 billion.

Most of the resources come from large donors. In this election, the main one was Rubens Ometto Silveira Mello. The billionaire from the Cosan group, which operates in the energy, oil and gas, agribusiness and mining sectors, donated R$15.7 million, R$1 million of which directly to the MDB.

The amount is more than triple the R$4.1 million disbursed by second place in the ranking, José Ricardo Rezek. He is the founder of the RZK Group, which operates in the energy, telecommunications and technology sectors.

Companies were prohibited from donating to campaigns in 2015, but businesspeople continue to make million-dollar electoral donations as individuals.

In 2016, Alexandre Grendene—co-founder of the footwear company Grendene—was the largest individual donor, with R$4.3 million. The billionaire did not make donations in this election, but his brother and partner, Pedro Grendene, donated R$560,000.

Ometto took the lead in the ranking of largest donors in 2018, when he totaled R$7.5 million in resources directed to various parties and candidates, including João Doria (then in the PSDB) and Onix Lorenzoni (PL).

Among donations from individuals, Gilberto Kassab’s PSD was the party that received the most resources donated directly to the party. R$ 16.1 million were transferred to the directories, which choose which campaign will receive the resource at the end.

It was in this modality that the party received R$1 million from businessman Antonio Setin, who works in the construction and development sector, via the national directory. Through the state directory, the PSD received R$1 million from Francine Prado Kallas, linked to Grupo Cedro, which operates in the mining sector.

Parties that took part in the presidential elections and that have the largest shares of the electoral fund, the PL and PT appear further behind in donations from individuals. Jair Bolsonaro’s party received R$45.8 million and President Lula’s party got R$39.2 million.

The PL, which holds the largest share of the electoral fund this year (R$888.7 million), received only R$3.3 million in direct donations to the party. The largest amount, R$250,000, was donated to the municipal management of Sinop (MT) by Roberto Dorner, who is running for re-election as city mayor for his own party.

Manoel Conde Neto, president of Farma Conde, and Rubens Ometto Silveira Mello also stand out among the largest direct donations to the party, with R$200,000 each.

The PT received R$1.9 million in direct donations to the party, including R$250,000 donated by Carlos Laranjeira, former partner of the construction company OAS. The same amount was transferred by lawyer Paulo Erico Moraes Gueiro.

The largest donation from an individual to PT campaigns came from Maria Paula Lanat Suarez. She is the wife of Carlos Suarez, a businessman who was one of the founders of the construction company OAS and works in the gas and real estate sectors.

The businesswoman made donations totaling R$910,000, of which R$810,000 went to the campaign of Luiz Caetano (PT), candidate for mayor of Camaçari, and R$100,000 to Carlos Tito (PT), who is running for Mayor of Barreiras . The two cities are among the Bahian PT’s priorities in this year’s elections.

Suarez is known for his influence in Bahia’s political environment. A week ago, his daughter Isabela Suarez received a commendation from the Legislative Assembly at a well-attended event, which brought together mayor Bruno Reis (União Brasil) and vice-governor and candidate for mayor Geraldo Júnior (MDB).

Luiz Caetano’s campaign also received resources from directors of companies linked to Suarez, according to data from the Federal Revenue. Paulo Celso Guerra Lage made a donation of R$500 thousand and Luiz Alberto Benevides Barbosa donated R$190 thousand.

Lage also donated R$480,000 to the PP of Salvador, a party led by Cacá Leão, Government Secretary under Bruno Reis.

Among the donations made to party directories, the highlight is the nanico DC (Christian Democracy), which received R$ 1.9 million. Of this total, R$740,000 went to the DC in Salvador, led by Igor Domingez, who was Bruno Reis’s private secretary at city hall.

Donating resources to the party were Marcio Barata Diniz, which operates in the energy sector, banker Ângelo Calmon de Sá and João Gualberto Vasconcelos, who was a federal deputy for the PSDB and works in the real estate and supermarket sectors.

Another R$450,000 went to the Rondonópolis (MT) directory, in a donation from businessman Odílio Balbinotti Filho, soybean producer and Bolsonaro supporter. The resources were distributed among candidates for party councilor. In total, he donated R$2.4 million to various candidates and parties.

On a social network, he defended donations to elect right-wing mayors and councilors in 2024: “I will continue to donate, in a crystal clear way and within the legality, whatever is possible, I even call on everyone who, within their possibilities, to contribute their candidates,” he said.

Even with the million-dollar volume of donations made by individuals, the bulk of electoral campaigns are financed by the electoral fund, which had a record value of R$4.9 billion in 2024. Composed of public money, it came into effect in the 2018 elections. In the 2020 municipal election, it was R$2 billion.