The pre-candidate for President attracted the support of part of the largest evangelical congregations. The senator spoke in recent weeks with the pastor, leader of the Assembly of God Vitória em Cristo, from whom he had distanced himself.
Flávio also added federal deputy Cezinha de Madureira (SP), from the Assembly of God Ministry of Madureira, one of the largest Pentecostal groups in the country, to his party, in addition to ending the support of the Assembly of God Ministry of Belém, a strong denomination in .
Now, according to allies, the presidential candidate will launch an offensive to attract two other churches: the Foursquare Gospel and the Universal Church, owned by Bishop Edir Macedo. The pre-candidate’s interlocutors say they are excited about the possibility of adding these five denominations to the campaign.
Flávio’s conversation with Malafaia took place in March, in a tone of rapprochement, as the pastor faced friction with people close to the senator. The religious man had a preference for a candidacy for the Presidency of the governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), with the former first lady () as vice president.
In the dialogue, according to people close to them, it was agreed that Malafaia and Flávio would be together in the campaign, with formalization in a public act after the party window and the period of disintegration. In this way, the religious man reinforced his political independence, but recognized the senator’s consolidation as the right-wing candidate in the dispute against President Lula (PT).
On another front, the PL affiliated, from the Ministry of Madureira. According to congregation leaders, the tendency would be neutrality in the election. The group resisted new adherence to Bolsonarism, fearing an association between Bolsonarist agendas and the ideals of the church.
Interlocutors from Madureira’s Ministry assess that the rapprochement was possible because Flávio demonstrated more moderation than his father. The movement, however, occurs with caution. Cezinha joined the PL hoping to run for the Senate in São Paulo. This design, if confirmed, will tie the presence of the congregation to the senator’s platform, but will only be made official after the registration of candidacies.
A political wing of Madureira’s Ministry resists the formal approach with Flávio, but assumes that the senator will in fact take the leadership of the congregation to his platform. This group arrived with Lula with an eye on including the church in government deliveries in the social wing.
The PT member also sought to get closer to this religious segment. Last October, Lula himself and Cezinha and the leader of the congregation, Samuel Ferreira. There was a prayer circle around the president. In October 2024, he met with pastors to . At the time, attention was drawn to the presence of federal deputy Otoni de Paula (MDB-RJ), who was a supporter of Jair Bolsonaro.
But the flirting didn’t work. This group considers that the government was not very open to the support of evangelicals, which facilitated Flávio’s advance. Such distancing became evident, these politicians say, with the image crisis faced by Lula caused by this year’s Carnival parade.
On the occasion, the Acadêmicos de Niterói samba school paid homage to the president in a presentation that featured a section mocking conservatives, showing families in cans. According to these political leaders, if Lula had advisors from the segment at his side, he would have handled the crisis better. They claim that the PT member should have emphasized that he disagrees with the representation made in the parade.
In Flávio’s campaign, the feeling is of an open avenue for dialogue with evangelicals. In this sense, they state that the senator should soon talk to leaders of the Quadrangular Church, led by former deputy Mario de Oliveira, and also with the Universal Church.
Until then, Universal ignored political negotiations for this election, but prepared a mega event for Good Friday. Bishop Edir Macêdo’s idea, according to allies, was to hold a celebration in stadiums across Brazil as a demonstration of strength and engagement. The pastor is expected to meet Flávio soon.
As shown by SheetFlávio spoke with the president of the Republicans, deputy Marcos Pereira (SP). The party has a connection with Universal, but the initial dialogue was not exciting. Regarding Quadrangular, the pre-candidate is expected to participate in a service at this church this month. Malafaia should also invite him soon.
When visiting the Assembly of God Ministry of Belém, Flávio was anointed by pastor José Wellington Bezerra da Costa. The religious took the pre-candidate to the stage and prayed, asking that the senator be elected president.
Currently, Flávio Bolsonaro enjoys a favorable electoral scenario among evangelicals. In the most recent one, in March, the first-born reached twice the number of voting intentions in this religious segment. Catholics represent 48% of the interviews carried out by the institute, and evangelicals, 28%.
