Meatpacker announces discount steak for voters in Brazil shirts

A discount on steak held by a meatpacker in Goiânia caused some confusion this morning. Frigorífico Goiás announced that anyone wearing Brazil’s national football jersey this Sunday would be able to buy a kilo of picanha steak for BRL 22 (USD 4.06), alluding to President Jair Bolsonaro’s electoral code used on voting machines.

The promotion, announced by the company on its social media channels, uses a photo of Mr. Bolsonaro with a package of the meat and was considered “very patriotic” to the First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who commented on the Instagram post.

The discount meat attracted a long line with people wearing Brazil shirts and even led to some disturbance at one of the company’s stores, with people jostling to get inside. On the meatpacker’s website, a kilo of its Angus picanha usually sells for BRL 99.

Since June last year, beef inflation in Goiás has dropped from over 40 percent to almost 4 percent last month. Even so, prices remain high which, together with the reduced purchasing power of the Brazilian population, make it difficult for families to buy meat.

According to Conab, Brazil’s federal supply company, meat consumption in the country is expected to be the lowest in 26 years, with 24.8 kilos consumed by each Brazilian in 2022.

Because it is an election day, the Regional Electoral Court informed that if there are complaints against the meatpacker’s discount, they will be registered in a dedicated electoral court system to monitor irregularities during the elections.

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