Partido Social Cristão
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Social Christian Party (, PSC) was a Christian-conservative political party in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. In the 2018 election, the party elected 2 Governors, 1 Senator, 9 Federal Deputies and 30 State Deputies. In 2022, it announced plans to merge with Podemos. The merge was approved by the Superior Electoral Court on 15 June 2023.


History

The party was founded in 1985, as a
Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
party. The party supported
Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...
in the presidential election of 1989, and in 1990, the party won first place in the state election for
Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...
, the home state of then-President Collor. However, from 1994, the party declined: its candidates repeatedly lost votes, surpassing only those from far-left parties, who originated from rebel wings of the Workers Party without popular support. The PSC did not elect more than 3 representatives in the three subsequent elections. Former President
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
is a former member of the party. He joined the party in March 2016 to run for president in 2018. With that analysts pointed out that the party was in an increasingly right-wing movement; starting as a centre-right Christian democratic party, then adopting more
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
agenda and towards a
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
platform. However, Bolsonaro disagreed with Pastor Everaldo regarding the municipal elections alliance of PSC within PCdoB in Maranhão and joined the
PSL PSL may refer to: Sport *Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league *Palau Soccer League, top division association football league in Palau *Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league *Philippine Super Liga, a defunct profes ...
.


Ideology

Social Christianity derives itself from its supporters' belief that
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, more than a religion, is a state of mind that does not segregate and does not exclude, besides serving as a basis for people to make decisions in a rational way, The party is often associated with conservative
evangelical Protestantism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...
because the leadership of the Pastor
Everaldo Pereira Everaldo Dias Pereira (born 22 February 1956), better known as Pastor Everaldo, is a Brazilian pastor, businessman and politician affiliated with Podemos. He is a pastor in the Assembly of God church and has been the national president of the ...
, a national leader of Assemblies of God in Brazil, over the party. Despite this, the party does not have any affiliation with any church and many of the officials elected by the party, like the incumbents Governor and Vice Governor of Rio de Janeiro
Wilson Witzel Wilson José Witzel (born 19 February 1968) is a Brazilian politician and lawyer who was the 63rd Governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. A member of the Social Christian Party, Witzel is a former federal judge and is an ex-marine. On 28 Oct ...
and Claudio Castro being practising
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, with the latter being a well-known
Catholic music Catholic music may refer to: *Gregorian chant *Contemporary Catholic liturgical music Contemporary Catholic liturgical music encompasses a comprehensive variety of styles of music for Catholic liturgy that grew both before and after the reforms ...
singer and activist. The party is a vocal supporter of social conservatism, harshly opposing abortion,
LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
,
gender theory Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...
and the
legalization of marijuana The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. The ...
. On economics, the party is more moderate, supporting a
free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
system with privatization of many of the Brazilian
government-owned companies A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
like
Petrobrás Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The company's name translates to B ...
with an extensive
social safety net A social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and foo ...
. The party adopted a hard-line stance against organized crime and drug trafficking in the governorship of Rio de Janeiro. Under Witzel's government, the number of police operations substantially grew, and the number of police who died on duty has gone down, in addition the number of manslaughters, shootings and robberies went down, although civilian and criminal deaths in police-related incidents has increased. Nevertheless, Witzel has been criticized by the high number of civilian victims of the confrontational politics which he implemented, which includes poor children and elders. Openly opposed to
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
, it is historically anti-communist.


Controversies

The PSC raised controversy by fielding an openly
neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
candidate in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro legislative elections. Several party leaders were arrested or dismissed in August 2020 for corruption, including
Everaldo Pereira Everaldo Dias Pereira (born 22 February 1956), better known as Pastor Everaldo, is a Brazilian pastor, businessman and politician affiliated with Podemos. He is a pastor in the Assembly of God church and has been the national president of the ...
(PSC national president) and
Wilson Witzel Wilson José Witzel (born 19 February 1968) is a Brazilian politician and lawyer who was the 63rd Governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. A member of the Social Christian Party, Witzel is a former federal judge and is an ex-marine. On 28 Oct ...
(governor of Rio de Janeiro).


Electoral results

At the
legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
of 6 October 2002, the party won 1 out of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and no seats in the Senate. At the legislative elections of 1 October 2006, the party won 9 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. At the legislative elections of 3 October 2010, the party won 17 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 1 seat in the Senate. At the legislative elections of 5 October 2014, the party won 13 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 1 seat in the Senate. At the legislative elections of 7 October 2014, the party won 9 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 1 seat in the Senate.


Presidential elections


Chamber of Deputies and Senate elections


References


External links


Official web site (in portuguese)
{{Brazil political parties 2002 establishments in Brazil 2023 disestablishments in Brazil Political parties disestablished in 2023 Conservative parties in Brazil Christian democratic parties in South America Political parties established in 2002 Social conservative parties Defunct political parties in Brazil Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Brazil