ABSTRACT
The change from a progressive government to a country led by a far-right president in just a few years finds one of its roots in two major changes that took place in the 1980s: the conservative turn in the Catholic Church – and its attacks on liberation theology and practices –, and the concomitant rise of conservative neo-Pentecostal churches. The impact of these changes was little visible in the Brazilian political arena in the following decades, when activists formed in the Base Ecclesial Communities established organizations, parties and social movements. In the long term, the vacuum left was soon filled by the neo-Pentecostal conservative churches, which acted as a great incubator of militants and voters of Jair Bolsonaro.
Keywords
Liberation Theology; Religion; Social movements; Neo-Pentecostal churches; Bolsonaro