Meyer Nigri, in a meeting with President Bolsonaro at Planalto (next) and at a poker event in Rio (above): gaming enthusiast Marcos Corrêa / PR
Meyer Nigri, in a meeting with President Bolsonaro at Planalto (next) and at a poker event in Rio (above): gaming enthusiast Marcos Corrêa / PR
In September last year, businessman Meyer Nigri, owner of the Tecnisa construction company, participated in an international poker event at the Copacabana Palace, in Rio de Janeiro. In a recreational modality, without the participation of professional players, he took the sixth place and a prize of 53,225 reais (US$ 9,000), that were donated to charity, according to information released by the competition organization. It was not his only noteworthy performance.
One of the most influential supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro in the business world, Nigri also took advantage of the event to participate in conversations with parliamentarians and representatives of gambling and casinos companies awaiting legal authorization to operate in Brazil. At a dinner table by the pool of the hotel, the businessman even called the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, in front of his guests, with the objective, according to the witnesses of the scene, to show that the government doors are wide open for him - and they are.
The lobby (legal, by the way) for the liberation of gambling and casinos in Brazil is not new. A parliamentary front wields this flag, and the Bolsonaro family shows sympathy for the idea, which faces resistance, among others, from the evangelical bench, one of the main bases of support for the president. There are bills ready for voting in Congress to authorize such activities. Its supporters claim that the release can generate revenue of R$ 20 billion (US$3.4bn) a year, plus R$ 7 billion (US$1.2bn) in concessions, grants and licenses, in addition to 1.3 million direct and indirect jobs.
A lobbyist who asked not to be named told VEJA that investors are counting on Nigri's help to convince Bolsonaro to finally approve the legalization of the sector in the country. Among other reasons, because the civil construction sector, of which the entrepreneur is an exponent, could benefit from the legalization of gambling and casinos.
“Nigri is good at playing poker, which requires intelligence and strategy. Defending the release of the gambling sector and being remembered as someone who used his prestige in the government and in Congress to change the legislation will give him an advantage when these companies come to the country,” said the lobbyist. "And there is nothing wrong, because he is not contracting with the government, he will not make public money, his business will all be with private companies."
Nigri told VEJA that he has defended the move publicly and in conversations with authorities, but stressed that he did it not in the service of third parties, but in line with his personal opinion. He is a gambing enthusiast, whom he considers instructive for life, including professional. “I don't work for anyone or lobby. I don't want to do any real estate development, at least so far, that involves casino or gambling.”
A civil engineer, Nigri met Bolsonaro in 2016. As a good cicerone, he introduced the then deputy to businessmen and the Jewish community and was willing to help him during the pre-campaign to the Presidency. Both wanted to banish “socialism” from the country and were delighted by the economic promise personified by Paulo Guedes. Low investment paid dividends. Nigri was one of the sponsors of the nominations of Nelson Teich for the Ministry of Health and Augusto Aras for the post of Attorney General. It was in this condition that he received calls in the past few days to find out if Teich will be fired. His standard answer is "I don't know". “He entered the ministry and has difficulty knowing what is happening, knowing the numbers, it seems that he still does not have an exit plan (from the pandemic),” he says. The priority of the minister's godfather, however, remains in the area of economics.
At the end of April, Bolsonaro received Nigri and other businessmen for a meeting to support Paulo Guedes, who, it was speculated at the time, could resign. Tecnisa's owner took advantage of the act of relief to present a demand: "I suggested to Guedes that Caixa should work with a lower interest rate for individuals." It was not his first foray into the bank area.
In December 2018, before the Bolsonaro government even started, Nigri proposed to Guedes that Caixa launch a real estate financing line that would use the official inflation index (IPCA) to correct loans for home ownership. In the following months, with the former deputy at Planalto, he returned to the matter with Guedes and the president of Caixa, Pedro Guimarães. It worked. In August 2019, the credit line was finally announced at a ceremony in Planalto. “Hey, Meyer, how are you? You trusted me back there. Thank you very much for your trust,” declared Bolsonaro at the ceremony.
As in a card game with good partners, the relationship remains solid. Every time the government needs it, the entrepreneur does what he can to help. In September 2019, Victor Metta - former PSL treasurer and special adviser to the Minister of Education, Abraham Weintraub - asked Nigri to enlist representatives from the construction industry for a meeting. On the agenda, it was the creation of a real estate fund that would guarantee extra resources for universities.
Nigri fulfilled the mission and sent the invitation in a WhatsApp group that brings together 45 companies, responsible for 95% of the sector. “The government asked us for suggestions. All we suggested was that anything offered to the market was due to competition, giving everyone a chance to participate.” After a column on Radar media revealed that the MEC turned to the businessman, and not to a public call to address the issue, the conversations were left out.
Source: Daniel Pereira, Nonato Viegas - VEJA
