Marçal sours relationship with Bolsonaro after politicizing act: ‘I was the only one who went into the arms of the people’

Pablo Marçal’s (PRTB) lightning-fast participation in the pro-Bolsonaro rally on September 7 resulted in more than a dozen cuts to his social media accounts, the former coach’s main asset in the electoral campaign. But not all the results were positive: going to the rally soured the influencer’s relationship with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), with whom Marçal had been flirting in recent weeks.

Earlier, Bolsonaro released a statement accusing the candidate for Mayor of São Paulo of “taking a platform at the expense of others.” The former president mentioned that Marçal tried to get on the float at the end of the event, but was stopped for “obvious reasons.” According to Bolsonaro, the episode was the “only regrettable incident” of the demonstration.

To the StateMarçal denied the accusation that he used the event as a platform. “How can I use a platform if they didn’t let me get on the platform? I went into the arms of the people. I didn’t have any say, I was just the only one who went into the arms of the people,” said the PRTB candidate. At around 3:30 p.m., Marçal posted a video on Instagram reiterating that he was barred and declaring that he is alone: ​​“God, the people and nothing else.”

Bolsonaro was not the only one bothered by the influencer’s attitude. The organizer of the event, pastor Silas Malafaia, accused Marçal of trying to pass himself off as a “victim” and of wanting to “seal the deal” at any cost. Malafaia also called the businessman and former coach a “wimp,” saying that he only arrived after the event had ended out of fear of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the main target of the Bolsonaro attacks on September 7.

On Saturday, Marçal landed by helicopter near Paulista Avenue, walked through the crowd, signed autographs for supporters and, when the event was over, tried to get on the float where Bolsonaro was, but was stopped. Marçal was traveling to El Salvador and kept his participation in the event a secret.

For people close to the former president, Marçal made two mistakes yesterday: he arrived after the speeches against Moraes, reinforcing the impression that he avoids confrontation with Bolsonaro’s main tormentor, and he ignored the former president’s guidance not to politicize the act.

Marçal has posted more than ten videos about September 7 on his social media. In one of them, Bolsonaro supporters present at the event say they will vote for Marçal for Mayor of São Paulo. Another video shows Marçal in the middle of the crowd, while supporters wear caps with his name on them. “He was very bad yesterday,” said a close ally of the former president, calling Marçal “disingenuous.”

While the former coach had a tumultuous participation in September 7th, Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) came away unscathed: he did not face hostility from Bolsonaro supporters and even posed for a photo next to federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), son of the former president.

Nunes also received praise from Bolsonaro, who classified the presence of Novo candidate Marina Helena as “exemplary and respectful”, in the same note in which he criticized Marçal.