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 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 prominent feature of Conservatism in Brazil.
The Evangelical Parliamentary Front was founded in 2003 to bring together Evangelical parliamentarians, from all political parties, at the National Congress Palace in BrasÃÂlia, Brazil.
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.
The evangelical caucus has no formalized leadership; however João Campos de Araújo, Anthony Garotinho, Eduardo Cunha, Lincoln Portela, and Magno Malta were considered the unofficial leaders of the caucus in 2013.
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 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, Marina Silva, and Walter Pinheiro.
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.
The following past and present members of the Brazilian Senate that are/were affiliated with the Evangelical caucus
The following past and present members of the Chamber of Deputies that are/were affiliated with the Evangelical caucus