Brazil, JBS and the meat industry during the political-judicial crisis

On 18^th May, Joesley Batista, who, with his brother Wesley is the head of the Brazilian meat giant JBS, released an open letter of apology to all Brazilian citizens for the “mistakes” made, for which there are no “justifications”. “We have not honoured our values. We are not proud at all for what we have done”. The manager has decided to expose himself by making such a move because the South American Country is being hit by a series of political and judiciary storms for which he also feels responsible. On 17th May, a wiretap of a meeting between Joesley himself and the Brazilian president Michel Temer was made public, in which it appears that this latter agreed to the payment of a series of kickbacks in favour of the former President of the Chamber, now in jail, in exchange for remaining silent during an investigation for corruption. The storm has overwhelmed everyone: both the political class and the meat industry. The parliamentary opposition calls for Temer’s impeachment. Who also finds himself accused of obstructing the course of justice, passive corruption and criminal association by the Prosecutor General of the Country, Rodrigo Janot. The position of JBS is bound to have an impact, in fact, the company has already been caught up in the Carne Fraca scandal, which now is at the epicentre of a whirlwind of controversy. The company sees its appointment with IPO in Wall Street gradually drifting further away. While its shares slump on the San Paolo Stock Exchange, the Batista family financial advisor has hired an investment bank to sell some of its assets, including Alpargatas. Moreover, the Brazilian press claims that JBS is imposing new payment terms on its Brazilian suppliers. Minerva, another maxi meat company on the Brazilian market, is also collaborating with the judicial authorities as regards the same line of investigation.