The banker, the film, and the scandal that threatens Flavio Bolsonaro's candidacy

Flavio Bolsonaro fired his marketing chief while trying to secure a photograph with Donald Trump to improve his poll standing. His campaign faced a major setback after media reporting connected him to Daniel Vorcaro, a banker imprisoned for involvement in the Banco Master fraud. Audio evidence described Vorcaro and Flavio discussing payment for a biographical film about Jair Bolsonaro, contradicting Flavio’s earlier claim that he did not know Vorcaro. Further revelations showed Flavio had visited Vorcaro after his arrest and while he was under an electronic ankle monitor. The Banco Master case also affected financial markets. A Datafolha poll indicates Lula would expand his lead, though Bolsonaro is not eliminated.

"Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and a hopeful presidential contender in a few months, fired his marketing chief last week. He has been maneuvering for days to desperately obtain a photograph that, he believes, could pull him out of the crisis that has shaken his campaign. Bolsonaro's son arrived in Washington on Monday. The calculation is that if Donald Trump makes room for him in his tight presidential schedule and they pose together, he could regain ground in the polls."

"The campaign had been running full speed for him until media outlet Intercept Brasil published an exclusive linking Bolsonaro's son directly to the mastermind behind one of the largest frauds in recent memory: the Banco Master case. The link between the right-wing candidate and the bankrupt institution is Daniel Vorcaro, a banker currently in prison whom Flavio claimed not to know until all of Brazil heard, in the audio released by Intercept Brasil, the friendly tone with which he demanded the millions they had agreed upon for a biographical film about Jair Bolsonaro."

"Details began to surface that increased suspicions. A few days later, in the wake of a new media revelation, candidate Bolsonaro had to backtrack once again. He admitted that he had also visited the banker after his initial arrest, when he was sent home with an electronic ankle monitor. In other words, when signs that Banco Master was facing serious liquidity problems were already evident, the senator was in contact with the bank's owner, who has cost the public coffers a fortune."

"Now a poll has measured the impact of the Banco Master case on voter sentiment. Bolsonaro is bruised but not sunk. The results of the Datafolha survey released last Friday indicate that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would increase his lead both in the firs"

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