Benevenuto Daciolo Fonseca dos Santos (born 30 March 1976), known as Cabo Daciolo (''Corporal Daciolo'' in English), is a Brazilian military firefighter, pastor and politician affiliated to

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. In 2014, he was elected federal deputy. He was expelled from the

Socialism and Liberty Party The Socialism and Liberty Party (, ; PSOL ) is a left-wing political party in Brazil. The party describes itself as socialist and democratic. The party leader is Paula Coradi and the federal deputies Ivan Valente, Talíria Petrone, Sâmi ...

(PSOL) in 2015 and later affiliated to the Labour Party of Brazil (later Avante),

Patriota Patriota (, ), abbreviated PATRI and formerly known as the National Ecological Party (, abbreviated PEN), was a right-wing to far-right political party in Brazil. It was registered in the Superior Electoral Court in the summer of 2012. The last p ...

, Podemos (PODE),

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and the

Brazilian Woman's Party The Brazilian Woman's Party (, PMB) is a Right-wing politics, right-wing political party in Brazil which uses the number 35. Known for its non-feminist and anti-abortion stance, the party is not represented in the National Congress of Brazil, Na ...

(PMB). Daciolo gained notoriety in 2011, when he was one of the leaders of the firefighters' strike in Rio de Janeiro. The strikes occupied the headquarters of the corporation and camped in the staircases of the

Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro The Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro ( or ''ALERJ'') is the unicameral legislature of the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It has 70 state deputies elected by proportional representation. After the 1834 Additional Act, the Provincial As ...

(ALERJ). Daciolo was arrested and detained for nine days in the Gericinó Penitentiary Complex. He became nationally known for being candidate on the

2018 Brazilian general election General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the president, National Congress of Brazil, National Congress and Governor (Brazil), state governors. As no candidate in the presidential election (and for the gubernatorial electi ...

. With 1,348,323 votes (1.26% of the valid votes), he placed 6th. Besides being widely known as ''Corporal Daciolo'', in 2014 he was promoted by Rio de Janeiro Military Firefighters Corps to the rank of 3rd Sergeant, retiring at the end of the year.

Personal life

Benevenuto Daciolo was born in Florianópolis and was married to journalist Cristiane Daciolo, deceased on 29 August 2023 due to complications of a leukemia diagnosed in 2018, whom they had 3 children. Graduated in tourism, Daciolo became known in 2011, when he was one of the leaders of the firefighters' strike in Rio de Janeiro. In the occasion, the strikers occupied the staircase of the

. Daciolo was arrested for 9 days at the Bangu I penitentiary. Daciolo attended

Bola de Neve Church Bola de Neve Church is a Brazilian neopentecostal church that was founded in São Paulo in 1999 by pastor, writer and former surfer Rinaldo Luiz de Seixas Pereira (April 15, 1972 – November 17, 2024), colloquially known as "Apóstolo Rina" or ...

and later became member of the Assembly of God Evangelical Church.

Political career

Member of the Socialism and Liberty Party, he was elected federal representative for Rio de Janeiro at the 2014 state elections. In March 2015, Daciolo got into a controversy with his party after supporting the release of 12 police officers accused of participation in the torture and murder of bricklayer Amarildo Dias de Souza in 2013. In May of the same year, PSOL national directory voted, 53 to 1, to expel Daciolo from the party after he proposed a constitutional amendment to change the first paragraph of the

Constitution of Brazil The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil () is the Constitution, supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government of Brazil. It replaced the ...

from "all the power comes from the people" to "all the power comes from God", which, according to the party, harms the

secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of relig ...

. In the same meeting, PSOL also voted, 31 to 24, to not recall his term to the

Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court (, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Election Justice, Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court (Brazil), Regional Electoral Court (, TRE) in each of the 26 states and th ...

. During the voring of the

impeachment of Dilma Rousseff The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, began on 2 December 2015 with a petition for her impeachment being accepted by Eduardo Cunha, then president of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamber of Deputies, and continued int ...

, Daciolo not only supported the removal of the president, but also of the vice president,

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...

, criticized the President of the Chamber, Eduardo Cunha,

Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...

, and his state's governor and vice governor Luiz Fernando Pezão and

Francisco Dornelles Francisco Dornelles (7 January 1935 – 23 August 2023) was a Brazilian lawyer, economist, and politician. He was the lieutenant governor of Rio de Janeiro from 2015 to 2019 and was the interim Governor during March and October 2016 following the ...

, respectively. In December 2017, Daciolo was acquitted by the

Supreme Federal Court The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

based on a bill proposed by him when he was already the subject of a lawsuit. Daciolo was a defendant in a criminal lawsuit for criminal association (Article 288 of the

Penal Code of Brazil The current Penal Code of Brazil () was promulgated in 1940, during the Estado Novo regime, and has been in effect since January 1, 1942. It is the third codification of criminal law in the country's history, succeeding those of 1830 and 1890. ...

) and for many articles of the National Security Law, but he was benefited by a bill proposed by himself which gave amnesty to military firefighters and police officers from many states who participated in strikes from 2011 to 2015. On 28 March 2018, he was launched by

as candidate for

President of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

. In July 2018, in a session of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, Daciolo "profetized" the cure of a fellow lawmaker,

Mara Gabrilli Mara Cristina Gabrilli (born 28 September 1967) is a Brazilian psychologist, advertiser and politician affiliated with the Social Democratic Party. She was elected as a federal deputy representing the state of São Paulo in the 2010 election, bei ...

, who is disabled. Daciolo spent most part of his electoral campaign at Monte das Oliveiras, a mount in the neighbourhood of

Campo Grande, Rio de Janeiro Campo Grande is the largest neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Campo Grande has a population of 328,370 inhabitants and an area of , on both counts Rio's largest. It is situated 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from Downtown Rio. ...

. For the 2022 presidential elections, Daciolo endorsed

Ciro Gomes Ciro Ferreira Gomes (; born 6 November 1957), known mononymously as Ciro, is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and academic. Ciro is currently affiliated with and vice-president of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). Born in São Paulo but rais ...

and almost got affiliated to the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). On 15 March 2022, he announced his pre-candidacy for governor of Rio de Janeiro for the

Republican Party of the Social Order The Republican Party of the Social Order (, PROS) was a political party in Brazil, founded in 2010, and officially recognized in 2013.Henrique Meirelles and

Marina Silva Maria Osmarina Marina da Silva Vaz de Lima (born Maria Osmarina da Silva; 8 February 1958), known as Marina Silva, is a Brazilian politician and environmentalist, currently serving as Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, a position ...

. As the final results were released, Daciolo contested the numbers, criticizing the voting by

DRE voting machine A DRE voting machine, or direct-recording electronic voting machine, records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be activated by the voter. These are typically buttons or a touchsc ...

s. In a suit filed to the Superior Electoral Court, he called for annulment of the voting, alleging fraud. The court stated that his suspicion was unfounded and that there were no confirmation of any fraud related to electronic voting machines, which were initially used in 1996. During the campaign, he made controversial and irreverent statements, such as the "prophecy" that he would be elected president: His statements made him a meme in the internet and a popular figure at the time, due to his statements remarked by religious citations and that mix

messianism Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Some religions also have messianism-related concepts. Religions with a messiah concept include Hinduism (Kalki), Judaism ( Mashiach), Christianity ( ...

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

Christian fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British an ...

and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

. His way to speak made him very known by the Brazilian people in general and especially the Evangelical ones, who voted or supported him. During a debate with other candidates, promoted by

Rede Bandeirantes Rede Bandeirantes (, ''Bandeirantes Network''), or simply known as Band (), is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It began broadcasting on May 13, 1967 on VHF channel 13 in São Paulo. Its founder was businessman :pt:João Saad, Jo ...

, Daciolo affirmed that the PDT candidate,

, was one of the founders of

São Paulo Forum São Paulo Forum (FSP), also known as the Foro de São Paulo, is a conference of left-wing political parties and organizations from the Americas, primarily Latin America and the Caribbean. It was launched by the Workers' Party () of Brazil in 19 ...

and questioned him about his participation in the creation of a supposed Union of Socialist Republics of Latin America, the URSAL. Gomes, on the other hand, answered he's not the founder of the Founder and he didn't know anything about the hypothetical Union, causing laughter in the audience. The fact led to a bunch of memes on the following day, which treated the subject with humor.

Electoral results

Presidential elections

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daciolo, Cabo Anti-Masonry 1976 births Brazilian evangelicals Living people People from Florianópolis Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian conspiracy theorists Brazilian anti-communists Brazilian nationalists Brazilian firefighters Patriota politicians Party of the Brazilian Woman politicians Assemblies of God people Republicans (Brazil) politicians Brazilian Labour Party (1981) politicians