Brazil's President and candidate for re-election Jair Bolsonaro attends a news conference at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 19, 2022.Brazil's President and candidate for re-election Jair Bolsonaro attends a news conference at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 19, 2022.
Without mentioning Bolsonaro by name, they shared posts with some of his catch phrases, including slogans popular with Brazil’s evangelical Christians, who back him overwhelmingly. In a country where evangelical churches have made major inroads in poorer communities, eroding the Catholic majority, many footballers wear their evangelical faith on their sleeve.
The outpouring on social media bolstered the growing anecdotal evidence that many of Brazil’s most prominent soccer players now lean to the right. Anthropologist Roberto DaMatta also highlighted soccer as an important tool for advancement in Brazil, but added that without deeper research it would be difficult to reach a firm conclusion about players’ political preferences across the board.Neymar’s video has been watched nearly 60 million times on Bolsonaro’s Instagram account alone.
Many of his most prominent supporters in the sport are former players linked to Brazil’s 1980s campaign to end military dictatorship, such as former Brazil international Walter Casagrande Junior. Former Brazil manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Lyon icon Juninho Pernambucano and 1994 world champion Rai are also backing Lula. Rai’s older brother, the late soccer star Socrates, marched against the military regime and started a pro-democracy movement alongside Casagrande at the Corinthians club in the 1980s.