Diogo Mainardi

Who is Diogo Mainardi?

Diogo Briso Mainardi is a Brazilian writer, journalist and TV commentator, mainly known for his articles in Brazil's largest weekly magazine, Veja.

He was born in São Paulo, where he finished high school. He went to London to study economics at the London School of Economics. Not managing to maintain a passing average, he quit in his freshman year, and never graduated. During that period, he met Ivan Lessa, whom he regards as one of his greatest influences.

Mainardi previously lived in Venice, where he met Gore Vidal who heaped praise on him during a mid-1980s conference tour in Brazil. He has published five books: Malthus, Arquipélago, Polígono das Secas, Contra o Brasil, and A Tapas e Pontapés. None of the first four - all novels - were successes, but his latest book, featuring excerpts of his political articles in Veja, has been proven a commercial success, though showing no improvement in his writing skills. He has also written two screenplays: 16060 and Mater Dei. Both films were major box-office flops, something Mainardi regularly makes fun of in a self-deprecating manner.

Mainardi has been subject of controversy due to his elitist and far-right political positions.