It is a worrying sign of the direction of travel in Brazilian politics that an online life coach with no experience in politics or administration but a criminal who once represented a small party linked to organized crime has emerged from or else will stir the race for power. the country’s largest city.
São Paulo’s mayoral election next month was a bitter contest between Ricardo Nunes and his left-wing rival Guilherme Boulos. But coach Pablo Marçal threw his M-embossed baseball cap into the ring and turned the two-man contest into a three-way dogfight.
This is surprising since Nunes is supported by the governor of the state of São Paulo and has the approval of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, while Boulos is the candidate of the sitting president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. But despite the lack of endorsements or support from a right-wing political party, the 37-year-old Marçal, who works as a non-political figure, has managed to increase his social media following by millions to the point that he he did so. candidacy is widespread in the race, spurring him to the polls.
As the race enters its final phase before the first round of elections on October 6 Marçal, whose campaign is driven less by his unsavory personality, still faces a battle to finish in the the first two that would advance him in racing. But regardless of where he ultimately places, his implosion in the race says something important about the ongoing instability of Brazil’s democracy.
Most importantly it clearly shows that the expulsion of Bolsonaro – himself once an outsider, an anti-system representative – from the presidency in 2022 with the return of Lula did not extinguish the anti-political animus that now motivates important sections of Brazilian society. Marçal is not a pure-blood bolsonarista. His emergence has disrupted Bolsonaro’s political figures, causing tension between the two camps.
The former president’s son Carlos publicly referred to the coach as “slow”, using the popular Brazilian far-flung dialect. Instead of Bolsonaro’s natural heir, Marçal, he is waiting for the emergence of the next generation of anti-establishment politicians, now, in contrast to Bolsonaro – a low political life for three decades before he- of the president -, from the west of the Brazilian public media. a universe without a political background.
All politicians understand the growing importance of social media in Brazilian elections. But all Marçal’s people were put in there. It is inherent in the emotional commitment that drives interactions. His opponents are also in a social position but in comparison their presence has the feel of a digital campaign manager who is targeting them.
Part of his appeal is his wealth, which is where Marçal’s social media presence intersects with the growing political power of Brazil’s evangelical movement. He has become a social media guru who sells expensive motivational courses by presenting himself as a successful businessman, although his wealth – the largest in the race – has raised eyebrows given how quickly it was amassed and that he was previously found guilty of financial fraud.
But after a lost decade of economic recession and social conditions damaged by a lack of investment, many young Brazilians are embracing a radical – at times – entrepreneurial vision for the lives of see. For many it doesn’t matter how rich Marçal is, just that he is rich. This also contributes to the study of the success of the neo-Pentecostal churches in Brazil with a strong political influence, which have adopted a business perspective in society.
Prosperity theology teaches that wealth in this life is a sign of God’s acceptance. Marçal’s successful evangelical work is a sign from God and helps explain why he chooses so strongly among them. Marçal himself does not identify himself as evangelical but he says he was raised in the Pentecostal church and it shows in his speech.
When he talks about his unrepentant “persecutors” of his political opponents, for the gospel audience he puts himself on the right side of the larger battle between good and evil. As he once told the church congregation: “The more God blesses you, the more you are persecuted.” In this context, the police investigation into him for illegal spending reinforces fans’ belief in him as a righteous outsider fighting against a corrupt system.
Maybe so, or maybe he hasn’t completely let go of his criminal past. Ironically, he is running for a party whose leaders were caught on tape bragging about their connections to São Paulo’s criminal underworld, which is seeking to turn profits from crime into political influence. .
But whatever the truth about Marçal or his fate, the fact that he is about to take control of Brazil’s biggest city points to the future challenges that the country’s politics face from a new generation. of the disaffected political figures.
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