Os empresários comerciais e o governo Bolsonaro: da eleição de 2018 às medidas de isolamento social durante a pandemia de Covid-19 (2020)

Abstract

In this essay, we seek to analyze the relationship of Brazilian commercial entrepreneurs with the Bolsonaro government, between the years 2018 and 2020. Methodologically, the article carries out a content analysis of the discursive manifestations of four of the most important associations of commercial entrepreneurs in Brazil. As a result, we identified that there was strong support for liberal reforms, actively guiding specific forms of these reforms and a favorable engagement with the government, in the electoral period and in its first year. We also identified that merchants were actively mobilized for specific agendas in the sector. As for the pandemic,it was possible to observe that all associations point to the need for help from the government for businessmen, but only at the Instituto para o Desenvolvimento do Varejo (IDV) we identify pressure for the reopening of tail stores.