Video transcript
POUCOS SABEM PORQUE EU ENTREI NA POLÍTICA... | Romeu Zema no Os Sócios
109 statements · 1 politicians · February 10, 2026 · 9 min
Statements by Romeu Zema. 109 transcribed statements, with topic and stance on the ones the analysis classified. Topics: Electoral Process, Ethics and Public Integrity, Combating Impunity, Monetary Policy.
Speakers
Click any statement beside the video to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Transcript
109 statementsFull transcript of the video. Statements the analysis classified carry topic and stance.
Desconhecido
What made you move from private life, from the private sector, where you had indisputable success by the metric of opening stores, a brand more than 100 years old, to public life, where we know—me as a digital influencer and my wife too—every day people are talking badly about us.
Desconhecido
With politicians it's much worse.
Desconhecido
You can do the right thing and even so there will be lots of people constantly criticizing you, no matter how good your conduct is.
Desconhecido
Why did you take on that fight?
Bruno, I think there were several factors.
an alignment of the planets.
It wasn't just one.
Let's recap here.
First, I spent 30 years opening stores, I drove more than 2 million kilometers, most of that through Minas Gerais.
Remember that, although the family company is old, this branch was a new business that I started.
It started practically from scratch.
Our line of business was always vehicle dealerships, which still exist, but today the retail business is much larger than the vehicle dealership business.
And I saw that there was growth potential, I began opening stores and did it according to the profile of Minas Gerais; Minas Gerais has 853 municipalities, the great majority small.
So we specialized in that type of business.
We don't have stores in shopping malls, we don't have stores in metropolitan regions, we have stores in towns of 10, 20, 30 thousand inhabitants.
And Minas Gerais has plenty of those.
So I dedicated my whole life to it.
And 2016 came, I said, I want to see this company that I helped grow operate without my presence.
I've seen many companies—those of you who follow business, you too—start to suffer because it's past time for the founder, the shareholder, to hand over control to a younger generation and he insists on staying on.
I think we can contribute a lot, but we're mortal.
So I've seen many entrepreneurs only relinquish the business when they're going to the cemetery or the hospital.
And I didn't want that.
So I did my succession in 2016, the company was professionalized, with audited financials, everything in order.
And I went to the board of directors.
I wanted a less hectic life.
You understand?
And in 2017.
The year 2017 was a totally atypical year in my life.
I wasn't even... at the company all day nor dedicating myself to another activity.
I was studying, I had the opportunity to get to know startups abroad, see how they work, to be helping, contributing to the company in another way, not in the day-to-day—meetings, demands, reports, travel, constant commuting—and contribute.
- Neutral
About: run for governor
And it so happened that... At the end of 2017, Partido Novo contacted me.
- Neutral
About: run for governor
They said, 'Look, we want to run in the gubernatorial election next year and we want you to contribute to the party.'
I've never liked politics.
I even had an aversion to it.
- For
About: prohibit politicians from campaigning inside companies
I helped create the human resources policy, the procedures, and one of the things I suggested was introduced, which was... Politicians are forbidden to enter the company to campaign, to do anything.
In retail you depend on seu João, Dona Maria, Joãozinho to be able to sell.
It doesn't depend on politicians.
I've always viewed politics in Brazil very negatively.
So my natural reaction was to say no.
Do you agree?
AI classification from the transcript of a public video. See the Methodology