Brazil’s religious-media-political complex

President Jair Bolsonaro with Pentecostal pastor Silas Malafaia, Rio de Janeiro, April 2019

Mauro Pimentel · AFP · Getty

At 5.30am, in the headquarters of the 22nd battalion of Rio de Janeiro's military police, a television crew put on bulletproof jackets and prepared to hit the streets with Ernani Alves, the star presenter of Cidade Alerta (City on Alert). The two-hour show is the most-watched on RecordTV, Brazil's second-largest channel by geographical reach and audience; it covers 'news, urban violence and crimes' and goes out every afternoon, Monday to Saturday. The tone is sensationalist (the good guys are always in uniform) and it feels structureless, jumping at random from brutal rapes to everyday break-ins.

According to a report by the NGO ANDI (News Agency for Children's Rights), produced with Brazil's federal prosecutor's office. Cidade Alerta has broken the law more often than any other programme: infringements include ignoring both the presumption of innocence and judicial decisions; exposing minors; inciting crime, hate speech and prejudice; breaching the right to silence; and psychological torture. Olívia Bandeira, an anthropologist and coordinator of communications watchdog Intervozes, said, 'Their attitude is the only good crook is a dead crook. They ignore police violence and defend strong-arm tactics, just as Jair Bolsonaro has done for years.'

The Universal Church, RecordTV and the Republicans generally present themselves as independent entities. In reality, the Record group is a powerful electoral springboard for the party Suzy dos Santos

Besides crime shows, Record's schedule gives airtime to pastors from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus), who invite viewers to reflect prayerfully on the dramas they have been watching. Record is owned by Edir Macedo, founder of, and bishop in, the Universal Church, third-largest by membership of Brazil's evangelical churches and active in 95 countries.

'Record isn't independent'

Despite his ascetic (…)

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(1) 'Violações de direitos na mídia brasileira' (Rights violations in the Brazilian media), ANDI, in partnership with Intervozes and the office of the federal prosecutor for citizens' rights, Brasília, 2016.

(2) O Reino (The Kingdom), Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 2019.

(3) Mariama Correia and Bruno Fonseca, 'Governo gastou mais de R$ 30 milhões em rádios e TVs de pastores que apoiam Bolsonaro' (Government spent more than R$ 30m on radio and TV channels of pastors who support Bolsonaro), Pública, São Paulo, 15 June 2020, apublica.org/.

(4) Janaine Aires and Suzy dos Santos, Sempre foi pela familia: Midias e politicas no Brasil (It's always been for the family: Media and politics in Brazil), Mauad, Rio de Janeiro, 2017.

Source: mondediplo.com