Documents show swathes of pro-Bolsonaro buses heading to São Paulo

As Brazil’s Independence Day approaches, the country is awash with tension. On September 7, President Jair Bolsonaro is set to lead protests in Brasília and São Paulo, which many believe could be sizable and potentially violent. The president and his acolytes have barely disguised their vitriol towards democratic institutions, especially the Supreme Court. “We will bring our heart and souls to make it clear that it is the people who are supreme,” said Labor Minister Onyx Lorenzoni on Friday, during a conservative event in Brasília.

The Brazilian Report had access, through journalist and writer Daniela Abade, to a 33-page document being passed around pro-Bolsonaro social media channels sharing contact information for people who want to join chartered buses heading to the protest on São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue. It lists 243 buses, seven minibusses, and 41 vans coming from multiple regions. If filled to capacity, they could bring nearly 11,000 people to Brazil’s biggest city.

The contact information confirms the involvement of agricultural sectors in the organization of the protests — in Piracicaba, a city 166 kilometers to the northwest of São Paulo, the phone number of offices of agricultural machinery vendor Caterpillar is being used as a sort of protest “hotline.” 

It also shows how pro-Bolsonaro politicians...