The Evangelical Parliamentary Front or the Evangelical Caucus (known in Portuguese as ''Frente Parlamentar Evangélica'' and ''Bancada Evangélica'' respectively) is a loosely organized group of

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

lawmakers in the Brazilian government and legislature. If considered a political party, the Evangelical Caucus would be the third largest in the Brazilian government, surpassed only by the Brazilian Democratic Movement and the Workers' Party. It is a proeminent feature of

Conservatism in Brazil Conservatism in Brazil designates the movement originated from certain cultural traditions of Brazil, as well as the relationship with Portuguese- Iberian cultural roots and diverse influences. The movement received influences from Roman heritage a ...

History

The Evangelical Parliamentary Front was founded in 2003 to bring together Evangelical parliamentarians, from all political parties, at the National Congress Palace in Brasilia,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The regularization of the FPE on the board of directors of the Chamber of Deputies only occurred on November 9, 2015, motivated by the exponential growth of the bench, a process that began with the significant election of 60 federal deputies who declared themselves evangelicals in the 2002 election.

Leadership

The evangelical caucus has no formalized leadership; however João Campos de Araújo,

Anthony Garotinho Anthony William Matheus de Oliveira (born 18 April 1960), also known as Anthony Garotinho, is a Brazilian politician, radio broadcaster and convicted felon. He legally adopted his stage name "Garotinho" (Little Boy in Portuguese), originally a n ...

Eduardo Cunha Eduardo Cosentino da Cunha (born 29 September 1958), is a Brazilian politician and radio host, born in Rio de Janeiro. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil from February 2015 until May 5, 2016, when he was removed from the pos ...

Lincoln Portela Lincoln Dinz Portela (born 3 November 1953) is a Brazilian politician, television and radio personality as well as an evangelical pastor. He has spent his political career representing Minas Gerais, having served as state representative since 199 ...

, and

Magno Malta Magno Malta (born October 16, 1957) is a Brazilian fundamentalist evangelical pastor, religious singer, and politician. He has represented Espírito Santo in the Federal Senate from 2003 to 2019 and was re-elected for a separate term that sta ...

were considered the unofficial leaders of the caucus in 2013.

Membership

The Evangelical Caucus of Brazil has no defined standard of membership but is generally open to all Protestant lawmakers in the Brazilian legislature, including mainline denominations as well as members of evangelical and Pentecostal movements. The caucus was formed especially because Brazil's fast growing Protestant population was underrepresented in government, and as is the norm Catholic and non-religious politicians are not allowed to be members. Converative Catholic politicians are usually not considered to be part of the evangelical caucus, certain politicians such as Hugo Leal and

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

often collaborate with the caucus. Although the Evangelical Caucus is often perceived by the media, its members, and supporters to be conservative/right wing, it is worth noting that a few members are affiliated with left-wing politics in Brazil, such as

Benedita da Silva Benedita Souza da Silva Sampaio (, born 26 April 1942) is a Brazilian politician. From a humble background, she faced class and racial prejudice, overcoming it to become the first female and Afro-Brazilian governor of the State of Rio de Janeir ...

Marina Silva Maria Osmarina da Silva Vaz de Lima (born 8 February 1958) is a Brazilian politician and environmentalist. She is the founder and former spokeswoman for the Sustainability Network Party (REDE). During her political career, Silva served as a sen ...

, and Walter Pinheiro.

Influence on politics

The evangelical front is often seen as part of the rising Evangelical influence in politics in Latin America. The evangelical vote was seen as key in the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the election of Jair Bolsonaro in the 2018 election.

Prominent members

Senate of Brazil

The following past and present members of the

Brazilian Senate The Federal Senate ( pt, Senado Federal) is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the House of Lords of the British Parliament, but since the Proclamation ...

that are/were affiliated with the Evangelical caucus

Chamber of Deputies