Unprecedented evangelical bench in the Senate focuses on the customs agenda

An increasingly influential group in national politics and with a traditional role in the Chamber of Deputies, evangelicals achieved unprecedented expressiveness in the Senate this year. Boosted by the last elections, senators elected by different parties are now in greater numbers and their conservative flags bring parliamentarians from other religions to their surroundings for reasons of thematic affinity.

One of the first achievements was the installation in the Senate of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front, on March 15, chaired by Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), and with Senator Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF) as vice-president. With 17 members, of which only eight actually belong to Protestant Christian denominations, the front has the common purpose of preserving religious freedom in Brazil and promoting public policies of social scope.

The fight against gender ideology, abortion and the legalization of drugs and gambling are some of the issues on the so-called “customs agenda” that attract senators from other religions to the bench, such as spiritist Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE ) and Catholics Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil-MS) and Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO). The group also promises to monitor the actions of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), mainly with regard to ministerial ordinances on the topics already mentioned.

“The evangelical parliamentary front is not partisan. His main objective is not to oppose Lula, but rather to fight for the causes he believes in and defend his interests and values”, said Viana, who chairs the bench, to People’s Gazette.

According to observers of politics in Congress, the evangelical movement in the Senate is a new factor that will have consequences for the House’s decisions. A survey by Genial/Quaest released at the beginning of the month showed that conservative parliamentarians are the ones with the greatest influence on social networks. And of the 10 most influential senators, six are from the evangelical front: Cleitinho, Flávio Bolsonaro, Magno Malta, Damares, Marcos do Val and Rogério Marinho.

But the weight of the group in the Senate is still far from reaching the level of consolidation seen for a long time in the Chamber, where the evangelical parliamentary front has existed since 2003 and weekly services are held on its premises. At that time there were only 20 deputies and today there are more than 200.

As stated in its installation manifest, the evangelical front in the Senate is committed to respecting all beliefs, within the principle of the secular state, and one of its objectives is to act in welfare measures to guarantee social dignity to people in vulnerable situations. . For Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), Lula’s ally, the parliamentary front must focus on social minorities.

Viana, on the other hand, claims that most evangelical and right-wing audiences are resistant to the PT. Even so, he bets on opening channels of dialogue with the government.

“Our work goes far beyond our mandates, the drafting of laws and important votes. We are here representing the majority of Brazilians who have beliefs and principles and who want to see ever-increasing harmony and respect between all social classes and regions”, highlights Viana.

Front promises to inspect ministerial ordinances

The expectation of Viana and congressmen from the front is to be able to complete a congressional cycle so that projects of interest to evangelicals are no longer stuck in the Senate. In addition, they promise to monitor government actions of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) that interfere in issues such as the legalization of drugs and abortion, almost always through ministerial ordinances. “We are going to monitor all of this with a magnifying glass, including in the House and Senate committees”, warns the president from the front.

According to him, the political rise of evangelicals in the last 10 years was precisely the result of the reaction of this public against legislative and government initiatives that confronted the postures of the churches, such as the defense of taxing temples in the government of former president Dilma Rousseff (PT). and the criminalization of pastors who refused to celebrate same-sex marriages.

In addition to the customs agenda, another connection of the Senate’s evangelical collegiate with other movements in Congress is linked to Brazil’s relations with Israel. In this sense, on February 28, with the participation of evangelical senators, the mixed Brazil-Israel parliamentary front was installed, dedicated to the development of bilateral relations with that country. The parliamentary group has 50 parliamentarians and is also chaired by Carlos Viana. Among the subjects they deal with is the exchange of technologies in the areas of agriculture, security and health.

Government tries to approach churches strategically

At the evangelical event of the National Convention of the Assemblies of God Madureira (Conamad), which took place in Brasília from April 19 to 22, vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and ministers Wellington Dias (Social Development) and Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations ) were present, seeking a closer relationship with the Pentecostal churches. They participated in a meeting on Friday (21) together with Senator Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF), supporter and former minister of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and the Governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil ).

Alckmin posted photos of the event and mentioned Damares on his Instagram profile, which was seen as a nod to the evangelical audience.

Analysts heard by People’s Gazette they also indicate the government’s interest in seeking the support of the Republicans, the senator’s party and linked to Bishop Edir Macedo, of the Universal Church. According to a survey by the PoderData institute, released on April 5, the evangelical community does not show significant support for Lula, with only 31% approval, while approval among Catholics is 58% – the margin of error is two percentage points, for more or less.

The day before, André Mendonça, minister appointed by former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), spoke to those present. The event brought together 8,000 pastor-presidents, representing 36,000 churches across the country. Conamad organizer Samuel Ferreira was a Bolsonaro supporter during the election race.