Anthony Garotinho
Encyclopedia
Anthony William "Garotinho" Matheus de Oliveira (born in Campos dos Goytacazes
, Rio de Janeiro
, 1960) is a Brazil
ian politician. He started as a radio presenter and changed his name legally to Garotinho - which means "Little Boy" - after it brought him success in his early career as a football commentator. He is often seen as a populist and, nowadays, more as a liberal
than as a socialist.
He is also one of the best known Brazilian evangelical
politicians. He was reborn as an evangelical Christian following a car crash in 1994. He is married to Rosinha Matheus
and has nine children, of which five are adopted.
and helping to reorganize the sugar-cane workers' union in Campos. He entered electoral politics in 1982, presenting himself as candidate for a councilman seat in the same city on the Workers' Party
ticket, failing to be elected because the party's list of candidates didn't achieve the necessary threshold of ballots to have a representation in the Municipal Chamber. Afterwards, he joined the Democratic Labour Party
(PDT), being elected for the State Legislature (1986) and winning the Campos mayoral elections in 1988. After his term as mayor of Campos (1989–1992), during which he took some measures to support small producers and to develop alternatives to sugar cane monoculture, as well as supported MST
settler projects, he was chosen by Governor Leonel Brizola
as State Secretary of Agriculture (1993–1994), presenting himself as the PDT's candidate for Governor in the 1994 elections, being defeated by Marcelo Alencar (PSDB
). After being reelected for mayor in 1996, he was eventually elected Governor of Rio de Janeiro State in 1998, for the 1999-2002 term of office, posing himself as the "crown prince" for Brizola, who had already entered a process of political decay and loss of charisma and personal influence.
"could work", as governor, Garotinho nevertheless targeted the poor by providing subsidized meals for R$ 1.00 (at the time equivalent to US$ 0.30) at "people's restaurants" (soup kitchens kept by private contractors), building 35,000 affordable homes and giving, - since 1999 - badly-off families a monthly "citizen's check" (actually, a R$ 100.00 coupon that could be used to purchase food and personal hygiene items at stores) - eligibility to whom was decided by a network of 807 religious organizations, mostly (82%) of them evangelical, specially from the Assembleias de Deus
movement. At the same time, he balanced the State budget and renegotiated Rio's public debts. He won high approval ratings, but his time in office was also marked by serious corruption allegations.
From what he presented as his miraculous conversion to Protestantism in 1994, Garotinho, although not himself a Pentecostalist
- he is member of a Presbyterian Church - came to stand as a spearhead of the constantly growing involvement of the Pentecostalist Churches in Brazilian politics, as well as of their bid for the Federal Executive itself. Given the notorious ties between Pentecostalism and the urban unorganized poor - for which a conversion to Pentecostalism tends to stand for a newly-found sense of community as well as for an aspiration at upward social mobility - one could say that Garotinho stood for the preferential social connections created by his political mentor Leonel Brizola, differing from him in that he gave such connections a more politically conservative hue, by means of a kind of Right-wing populism
in what is seem by many as simply pandering for the bare needs of the poor by means of a shallow philanthropy
reduced to the concrete minimum. Others, however, consider that, conversely, one could also say that Garotinho gave evangelical politics a leftist slant, in that his evangelicism is the personal choice of a recent and enthusiastic convert, who therefore acknowledges the most destitute ones by means not only of offering munificence, but of a shared identity.
Early during his gubernatorial term, Garotinho made a try at striking a progressive note on his public security policies, based on a think-tank of social researchers - who ghost-wrote Garotinho's electoral public security programme - led by the university professor of Anthropology and Political Science Luis Eduardo Soares, who was made assistant secretary of public security. Police stations were made Internet-friendly, in what was called a program for "legal (cool) stations" (Programa Delegacia Legal). However, Garotinho eventually dismissed Soares in March 2000, which was seen as a serious setback for upholding human rights, according to Human Rights Watch
. Garotinho insisted that Soares' removal was legitimate, but the circumstances suggested that he was removed due to pressure from the Rio police, with whose corrupt and violent elements Soares had been coming increasingly into conflict. Due to allegedly threats received by him and his family, Soares went abroad for a time, becoming a "neoexile".
(PSB) due to problems with the PDT leader, Leonel Brizola
, and was the party's presidential candidate at the October 2002 presidential elections. Garotinho stepped down nine months early to run for president and reached 18% of the votes. He backed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
for the second round. He helped his wife Rosinha Matheus
to be re-elected as governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. She appointed Garotinho as State secretary for Public Security.
In August 2003 he left the PSB to join the historical Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement
(PMDB), that supported President Lula. The move was seen as an attempt to secure federal funds for his wife's tenure as governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro and increase Garotinho's chances to run for President of Brazil in future elections.
, allegedly in protest of what he called unjust treatment by the Brazilian media, after unanswered accusations of illegal campaign funding - mostly about his wife's spending of some R$ 120 million in contracts with various shadowy NGOs for providing undelivered services to the State's government, in what was seem by the media as a way of diverting funds to an incoming electoral campaign. He later stopped his hunger strike, leaving charges unanswered- and his presidential candidacy turned down. The whole hunger strike scheme was a failure that ended in ridicule: the Brazilian press writing Garotinho off as a "clown" and a failing politician parading himself as a caricature of "a crucified Jesus Christ". Many satirists took advantage of the opprtunity to declare that they supported Garotinho to go on with the strike "to the very end".
On May 29, 2008 the Brazilian Federal Police
issued an arrest warrant against Garotinho for "mobstering" (formação de quadrilha) for his association to Rio's former plainsclothes (civil) police chief Alvaro Lins, now a Congressperson for Rio de Janeiro, who was charged with money laundering, criminal association, corruption and facilitating smuggling
. According to the federal attorney's office, Garotinho had "offered political backing for Lins' group to stay at the head of civil police.".
In May 2010, the State (Regional) Electoral Court rendered Garotinho and his wife Rosinha ineligible for three years from 2008 on, for engaging in electoral corruption during the 2008 mayoral elections in Campos, where Garotinho had canvassed for votes for his wife, who was running for mayor. Such a condemnation by a collegiate court would have rendered Garotinho ineligible for the ensuing 2010 national election, but the Federal Electoral Court decided to grant him the right to run for the Federal Legislative on the Partido Republicano (Brazil) ticket, pending an appeal to the said court.
Campos dos Goytacazes
Campos dos Goytacazes is a municipality and city located in the northern area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 463,545 inhabitants. Its area is 4,031.910 km², which makes it the largest municipality in the state and its elevation is 14 m...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, 1960) is a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian politician. He started as a radio presenter and changed his name legally to Garotinho - which means "Little Boy" - after it brought him success in his early career as a football commentator. He is often seen as a populist and, nowadays, more as a liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
than as a socialist.
He is also one of the best known Brazilian evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
politicians. He was reborn as an evangelical Christian following a car crash in 1994. He is married to Rosinha Matheus
Rosângela Matheus
Rosângela Rosinha Garotinho Barros Assed Matheus de Oliveira, better known simply as Rosinha Garotinho is a Brazilian politician....
and has nine children, of which five are adopted.
Early career
A popular radio anchorman, fond of amateur theater, Garotinho entered politics through grassroots activism, joining the Brazilian Communist PartyBrazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party is the oldest political party still active in Brazil, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties with a Stalinist orientation...
and helping to reorganize the sugar-cane workers' union in Campos. He entered electoral politics in 1982, presenting himself as candidate for a councilman seat in the same city on the Workers' Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
ticket, failing to be elected because the party's list of candidates didn't achieve the necessary threshold of ballots to have a representation in the Municipal Chamber. Afterwards, he joined the Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
The Democratic Labour Party is a populist, democratic socialist political party of Brazil. It was founded in 1979 by left-wing leader Leonel Brizola as an attempt to reorganize the Brazilian leftist forces during the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship...
(PDT), being elected for the State Legislature (1986) and winning the Campos mayoral elections in 1988. After his term as mayor of Campos (1989–1992), during which he took some measures to support small producers and to develop alternatives to sugar cane monoculture, as well as supported MST
Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers' Movement is a social movement in Brazil; it is the second largest social movement in Latin America with an estimated 1.5 million landless members in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states. The MST states it carries out land reform in a country it sees as mired by unjust land distribution...
settler projects, he was chosen by Governor Leonel Brizola
Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola was a Brazilian politician. Launched in politics by Getúlio Vargas, Brizola was the only politician to serve as governor of two different states in the whole history of Brazil. In 1959 he was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 1982 and 1990 he was elected...
as State Secretary of Agriculture (1993–1994), presenting himself as the PDT's candidate for Governor in the 1994 elections, being defeated by Marcelo Alencar (PSDB
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party is a centrist political party in Brazil. Originally a centre-left party at the time of its foundation, PSDB moved to the centre after Fernando Henrique Cardoso forged an alliance with the right-wing Liberal...
). After being reelected for mayor in 1996, he was eventually elected Governor of Rio de Janeiro State in 1998, for the 1999-2002 term of office, posing himself as the "crown prince" for Brizola, who had already entered a process of political decay and loss of charisma and personal influence.
Governor of Rio de Janeiro State
At the time already a conservative described by an American historian as a "responsible young man" with whom President Fernando Henrique CardosoFernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
"could work", as governor, Garotinho nevertheless targeted the poor by providing subsidized meals for R$ 1.00 (at the time equivalent to US$ 0.30) at "people's restaurants" (soup kitchens kept by private contractors), building 35,000 affordable homes and giving, - since 1999 - badly-off families a monthly "citizen's check" (actually, a R$ 100.00 coupon that could be used to purchase food and personal hygiene items at stores) - eligibility to whom was decided by a network of 807 religious organizations, mostly (82%) of them evangelical, specially from the Assembleias de Deus
Assembleias de Deus
The Assembléias de Deus are a group of Pentecostal denominations in Brazil related to the Assemblies of God.- History :The Assembléias de Deus began when Daniel Berg and Gunnar Vingren, two Swedish Baptist immigrants from South Bend, Indiana had the Pentecostal experience in Chicago and departed...
movement. At the same time, he balanced the State budget and renegotiated Rio's public debts. He won high approval ratings, but his time in office was also marked by serious corruption allegations.
From what he presented as his miraculous conversion to Protestantism in 1994, Garotinho, although not himself a Pentecostalist
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
- he is member of a Presbyterian Church - came to stand as a spearhead of the constantly growing involvement of the Pentecostalist Churches in Brazilian politics, as well as of their bid for the Federal Executive itself. Given the notorious ties between Pentecostalism and the urban unorganized poor - for which a conversion to Pentecostalism tends to stand for a newly-found sense of community as well as for an aspiration at upward social mobility - one could say that Garotinho stood for the preferential social connections created by his political mentor Leonel Brizola, differing from him in that he gave such connections a more politically conservative hue, by means of a kind of Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism is a political ideology that rejects existing political consensus and combines laissez-faire liberalism and anti-elitism. It is considered "right-wing" because of its rejection of social equality and government programs to achieve it, its opposition to social integration, and...
in what is seem by many as simply pandering for the bare needs of the poor by means of a shallow philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
reduced to the concrete minimum. Others, however, consider that, conversely, one could also say that Garotinho gave evangelical politics a leftist slant, in that his evangelicism is the personal choice of a recent and enthusiastic convert, who therefore acknowledges the most destitute ones by means not only of offering munificence, but of a shared identity.
Early during his gubernatorial term, Garotinho made a try at striking a progressive note on his public security policies, based on a think-tank of social researchers - who ghost-wrote Garotinho's electoral public security programme - led by the university professor of Anthropology and Political Science Luis Eduardo Soares, who was made assistant secretary of public security. Police stations were made Internet-friendly, in what was called a program for "legal (cool) stations" (Programa Delegacia Legal). However, Garotinho eventually dismissed Soares in March 2000, which was seen as a serious setback for upholding human rights, according to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
. Garotinho insisted that Soares' removal was legitimate, but the circumstances suggested that he was removed due to pressure from the Rio police, with whose corrupt and violent elements Soares had been coming increasingly into conflict. Due to allegedly threats received by him and his family, Soares went abroad for a time, becoming a "neoexile".
State secretary for Public Security
He moved to the Brazilian Socialist PartyBrazilian Socialist Party
The Brazilian Socialist Party , is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organized in 1985 with the re-democratization of Brazil. It elected six Governors in 2010, becoming the second largest party in number of state...
(PSB) due to problems with the PDT leader, Leonel Brizola
Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola was a Brazilian politician. Launched in politics by Getúlio Vargas, Brizola was the only politician to serve as governor of two different states in the whole history of Brazil. In 1959 he was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 1982 and 1990 he was elected...
, and was the party's presidential candidate at the October 2002 presidential elections. Garotinho stepped down nine months early to run for president and reached 18% of the votes. He backed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
for the second round. He helped his wife Rosinha Matheus
Rosângela Matheus
Rosângela Rosinha Garotinho Barros Assed Matheus de Oliveira, better known simply as Rosinha Garotinho is a Brazilian politician....
to be re-elected as governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. She appointed Garotinho as State secretary for Public Security.
In August 2003 he left the PSB to join the historical Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement
Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement
The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party is the successor of the Brazilian Democratic Movement. It is a big tent party, including a range of politicians from conservatives as José Sarney to liberals as Pedro Simon, left-liberals as Roberto Requião, populists as Íris Resende, nationalists as Orestes...
(PMDB), that supported President Lula. The move was seen as an attempt to secure federal funds for his wife's tenure as governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro and increase Garotinho's chances to run for President of Brazil in future elections.
Hunger strike and later setbacks
As the 2006 presidential elections approached, Garotinho, intent on maintaining a candidacy that his party tended to turn down for supporting Lula's bid for reelection, announced on May 1, 2006 a hunger strikeHunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
, allegedly in protest of what he called unjust treatment by the Brazilian media, after unanswered accusations of illegal campaign funding - mostly about his wife's spending of some R$ 120 million in contracts with various shadowy NGOs for providing undelivered services to the State's government, in what was seem by the media as a way of diverting funds to an incoming electoral campaign. He later stopped his hunger strike, leaving charges unanswered- and his presidential candidacy turned down. The whole hunger strike scheme was a failure that ended in ridicule: the Brazilian press writing Garotinho off as a "clown" and a failing politician parading himself as a caricature of "a crucified Jesus Christ". Many satirists took advantage of the opprtunity to declare that they supported Garotinho to go on with the strike "to the very end".
On May 29, 2008 the Brazilian Federal Police
Brazilian Federal Police
The Polícia Federal is the federal police force of Brazil subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, whose main assignments are the investigations of crimes against the Federal Government or its organs and companies, the combat of international drug trafficking and terrorism, and immigration and...
issued an arrest warrant against Garotinho for "mobstering" (formação de quadrilha) for his association to Rio's former plainsclothes (civil) police chief Alvaro Lins, now a Congressperson for Rio de Janeiro, who was charged with money laundering, criminal association, corruption and facilitating smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
. According to the federal attorney's office, Garotinho had "offered political backing for Lins' group to stay at the head of civil police.".
In May 2010, the State (Regional) Electoral Court rendered Garotinho and his wife Rosinha ineligible for three years from 2008 on, for engaging in electoral corruption during the 2008 mayoral elections in Campos, where Garotinho had canvassed for votes for his wife, who was running for mayor. Such a condemnation by a collegiate court would have rendered Garotinho ineligible for the ensuing 2010 national election, but the Federal Electoral Court decided to grant him the right to run for the Federal Legislative on the Partido Republicano (Brazil) ticket, pending an appeal to the said court.