Federal Police arrest Master owner, brother-in-law Zettel
Valor International17 hrs
Brazil: Leaked Messages Suggest Ties Between Arrested Banker, Senior Officials
Is the Banco Master scandal proof of right-wing corruption or proof that the right-wing was right about the Brazilian establishment?
Above: Demonstrators protest against Banco Master owner Daniel Vorcaro in São Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 5. Image credit: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Government-critical narrative
Hopefully, the Banco Master scandal and its fallout will serve as a wake-up call for the country. While former President Jair Bolsonaro and conservative pundits who dared to challenge the corrupt Brazilian establishment and expose its schemes have long been persecuted, abuses are now affecting honest people in mainstream media too. As the Moraes-Lula regime operates as a mafia, Brazilians have a moral imperative to oppose them.
Pro-government narrative
The spotlight may be on the Brazilian Supreme Court — and that's well-deserved — but the Banco Master scandal actually exposes deep corruption in the Brazilian right. While Vorcaro did have ties with leftist figures, his main contacts were all in the center-to-right side of the political spectrum, including Ciro Nogueira, who served as chief of staff under Bolsonaro. After all, it was the Lula-appointed Central Bank president who decreed the bank's liquidation.