It’s been 24 years since the term “Picolé de Chuchu” was popularized to refer to the “bland” style of . And, in fact, the premiere of the talk show Na Mesa com Datena lacked strong emotions.
“The big star of an interview is the interviewee”, he had said, days before the premiere on TV Brasil, on the state-owned channel, on Tuesday night (10). But the vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services did not reveal anything. Instead, he gave a great assessment of his tenure in the department.
Taxes, tax evasion, Haddad, deforestation, vaccination, Trump’s tariffs, hoe handling techniques and Pindamonhangaba stories were on the menu. Alckmin went off on a tangent when the host asked what he is going to run for in these elections — his party, the PSB, is trying to keep him on President Lula’s ticket.
“Look, Datena, vice president doesn’t need to leave [o cargo]. So, you remain vice president. Now, ministry, for any position you run for, you have to step aside. So, on April 2nd, strictly complying with the law, we will move away”, said the politician.
When commenting on the Banco Master scandal, Datena questioned: “Was there an attempt, from the government’s point of view, to provide a certain amount of protection, as it could affect figures from the government itself and important figures from other institutions?”
“Look,” replied Alckmin, “President Lula has been clear. Nobody in the government limits the investigation.”
“No, not even his son”, raised the ball Datena. “It’s a rigorous investigation, the Federal Police have freedom, the Public Ministry, the Judiciary”, said Alckmin.
With national reach, the weekly talk show was broadcast live across the country, between 9pm and 10:30pm. Through the TV Brasil channel on YouTube, with a few minutes delay, it was also possible to follow the program. In general, Na Mesa com Datena will be dedicated to interviews with characters from Brazilian politics and public life.
on Rádio Nacional, a station also belonging to EBC. “I’m here to beat everyone up. It doesn’t matter if it’s right or left”, stated the journalist at the time, before interviewing the Minister of the General Secretariat (PSOL).
Alckmin also made a religious quote. “In fact, Datena, it says that when Jesus entered Jericho, Zacchaeus, who was short, climbed a sycamer, a tree, to see who Jesus was. Jesus passes by, sees Zacchaeus climbing on the sycamer, and says: ‘Come down, Zacchaeus. I should stay at your house today'”, he said.
“This is the wonderful passage from Saint Luke in the Bible,” he continued. “And that was a scandal. Why was it a scandal? Because Zacchaeus was a tax collector. So it’s been 2,000 years since anyone liked paying taxes. It’s been 2,000 years, it’s nothing new.”
He also said a phrase that he has been repeating for at least ten years and which he credits to the poet Olavo Bilac. “There is inside every man and every woman a demon that roars and a God that cries”, he declaimed.
And he concluded: “Human beings are not perfect anywhere in the world. What they need to have are good institutions.”
Unlike what he has done on the radio, where there is space to speak and give his opinion on various subjects, Datena limited himself to the role of interviewer in the television debut.
For both attractions, the presenter, who ran in the last election for mayor of São Paulo for the PSDB, signed a contract for R$100,000 per month, passing the certificate as a legal entity. The journalist began his career in sports radio at the age of 15, before becoming nationally known in sensational attractions such as , on Record, or Brasil Urgente , on Band.
In December, the (National Federation of Journalists) and unions criticized EBC’s plan to hire him, and said, in a statement, that the presenter “consolidated a type of organization marked by systematic disrespect for human rights and political proselytism”.
“These programs have a more retrograde, very conservative content, but he was never that guy. I always knew that”, stated the CEO of EBC, Andre Basbaum, on the day of the radio premiere.
