An emissary prophet in political representation: notes on the trajectory of corporal Daciolo

Abstract

This article analyzes the trajectory of Corporal Daciolo (2011-2018) who emerged in the public sphere from the SOS Firemen movement (2011), which aim was to fight for salary adjustment, as well as improvements in working conditions. Daciolo’s charismatic performance, which sought to legitimize the movement’s actions through his religious perception, has helped his projection into politics until he became a federal deputy for the PSOL-RJ and, later, a candidate for the presidential election of 2018. In the light of the comprehensive Weberian sociology, this politician is associated with the emissary prophet, since he believes he speaks in the name of a deity. We argue that Daciolo brings to the political arena a deinstitutionalized evangelical narrative, triggering its symbols and values, and resignifying them from political practice in a redemptionist perspective.