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The
sources said that Santa Catarina state labor prosecutors are
running the investigation into Mayor Joao Rodrigues of Chapeco,
a hotbed for Brazil's meatpacking industry.
The mayor's office directed questions about the case to the
municipal attorney general's office, which said it was unaware
of any investigation.
"Gather your employees and direct them. Brazil cannot become a
Venezuela. It will not if Bolsonaro remains president,"
Rodrigues said in a video seen by Reuters, addressing the local
business community before stating his name and title.
Brazil has seen a wave of complaints about Brazilian companies
putting illegal political pressure on employees, amid the final
stretch of a highly polarized presidential campaign.
There have been 847 such claims against companies this year, up
from 212 in 2018, according to nationwide data compiled by labor
prosecutors in Brasilia. Electoral law prohibits Brazilians from
promising benefits or making threats to steer votes toward or
away from a particular candidate.
One of the sources familiar with the Rodrigues case, who
requested anonymity to speak freely, said it was triggered by
the undated video in which he refers to the Oct. 30 runoff vote
between Bolsonaro and leftist challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da
Silva.
"With Lula as president, we are going to face a very serious
crisis," Rodrigues says in the video, warning entrepreneurs of
Lula's plans to raise taxes and boost social programs. "He is
not worried about Brazilian industry. He is worried about
fulfilling his mission to deliver what he promised, which is a
socialist country."
In the final moments of the 55-second video, Rodrigues tells
business leaders "to get to work."
(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba
O'Brien)
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