Agribusiness firms suspected of using public funds to influence politics

Brazilian agribusiness organizations and major rural producers have found a way to reclaim a portion of the money spent on taxes, funneling it back into their coffers. And these funds, totaling hundreds of millions of Brazilian Reais, happen to be under investigation amid suspicions they have been used to finance political movements — including the pro-Bolsonaro anti-democratic marches seen on September 7.

The practice — which involves companies offsetting tax bills by contributing to state funds which are then invested back into the very same businesses — began in the state of Mato Grosso, in the heart of Brazil’s soy belt. Now, according to the Brazilian Rural Society, it has spread to another 17 states.

The Mato Grosso state chapter of Brazil’s major soy producers’ association Aprosoja has had its coffers topped up with BRL 421 million (USD 79.6 million) since 2008, according to the state comptroller’s office. Between 2019 and 2021 alone, it received BRL 138 million. This money was received by way of the Soy Support Fund, created in 2005. Indeed, the total amount could be even higher, as calculations were only available from 2008 onward.

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