Digital influencer Rico Melquiades, winner of the 13th edition of reality show A Fazenda, is being investigated by the Electoral Public Ministry of Alagoas (MPE) for suspected electoral coercion. The investigation began after the publication of a video in which he questions four women, presented as his employees, about who pays their salaries and their party preferences.
In the video, Melquiades asks one of the workers, identified as Manuela, if she will vote for the Workers' Party (PT). Then, he repeatedly states that she will be fired if she votes for the party, saying: "I don't want any PT supporters in here. Are you PT, Manuela? Answer. Are you going to be PT, Manuela? You're fired. Bring your ID. Get out of here, okay?"
A day after the investigative procedure was opened by the MPE, Rico Melquiades posted a new video on social media in which he claims he is "being threatened" and that he "will only leave home with security guards." The case is now proceeding in the electoral sphere, which is investigating the possible practice of coercion in the context of the elections.
