‘Brazil meatpacker financed political coup’

THE PUBLICIST for Brazilian President Michel Temer alleges that the largest meatpacking group in the country paid for a campaign to bring forward a coup against Dilma Rousseff.

Elsinho Mouco says JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, had funded a campaign involving social media to help propel Temer, then vice-president, to the presidency.

“In 2016, employers, corporations, many people wanted Dilma’s impeachment.

“Some hired stages and set up for events, others paid for flags, press offices, there were people who bought the Brazilian team’s shirt and offered to work in digital networks,” Mouco said.

Temer’s publicist for the past 15 years, Mouco told O Estado de Sao Paulo that he received $100 000 (R1.3 million) from Joesley Batista, owner of the JBS group.

Batista has previously testified that he paid bribes of $10m to choose the former head of the lower chamber, Eduardo Cunha, widely recognised as the chief mastermind behind the parliamentary coup against Rousseff.

Cunha is serving over 15 years in prison for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.

According to Batista, Temer asked him to develop a project to help him improve his image in social media. teleSUR –