Background
He was born in São Paulo Paulo, where he finished high school.
He was born in São Paulo Paulo, where he finished high school.
Not managing to maintain a passing average, he quit in his freshman year, and never graduated.
He went to London to study economics at the London School of Economics. 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 (1989), Arquipélago (1992), Polígono das Secas (1995), Contra o Brasil (1998), and A Tapas e Pontapés (2004).
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. He has also written two screenplays: 16060 (1995) and Mater Dei (2001).
Both films were major box-office flops, something Mainardi regularly makes fun of in a self-deprecating manner. Particularly, he often alluded to Lula"s supposed lack of intelligence and finesse.
In 2007 Mainardi wrote a book by the name Lula é Minha Anta (Lula is my tapir).
(in Brazilian Portuguese slang, "anta" is an insult When the tapir panics, it is said to run through the forest, trampling whatever is in its way So to call someone an "anta" is to say that such person is like a stupid animal, who does violent irrational things and cannot be stopped by persuasion Or, as Mainardi himself says in the book"s earmark, "Lula is mine Only I can call him ignorant and authoritarian"). Due to his journalistic style and critical comments about former president Lula - as well as towards those he sees as Lula"s supporters - Mainardi has been sued for libel by various politicians and fellow journalists. Mainardi maintains a podcast available on the Veja website.
The older one, Tito, suffers from cerebral palsy.
He regularly cites noted Brazilian intellectuals Paulo Francis and Ivan Lessa as his mentors. "There is only one kind worse than leftists with no principles - the leftists with principles.".
Mainardi has been subject of controversy and is often described as having far-right political positions. He often criticized Brazil"s former president, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (2003–2010), and his party.
Quotations: "There is only one kind worse than leftists with no principles - the leftists with principles.".
He is currently a member of a Sunday night cable television panel show called Manhattan Connection, broadcast by the "Globo News" channel, a part of Globosat.