“…Jair Bolsonaro readily admitted that he knew nothing about economics, but he knew that Guedes could connect him to capital and finance, which would bring credibility, campaign funds and ideological glue to firm up Bolsonaro's disparate base of support. 15 Guedes focused on two key prizes for capital: the neutralization of the trade unions, and the reform of federal pensions. Symbolically, on 1 March 2019 Bolsonaro signed Provisional Measure (MP) 873 (MPs are, effectively, Presidential decrees valid for 120 days), prohibiting employers from collecting trade union dues through payslips.…”