In one of the most poignant scenes at the end of Petra Costa's documentary, Apocalypse in the Tropics, the inverted head of the Lady Justice sculpture lies on the floor of Brasília's destroyed Supreme Court, alongside the bust of a bygone Brazilian politician, turned toward the wall, as if unable to bear the terror unleashed before their eyes. The hour and a few minutes preceding this scene ultimately seem like a slow, gradual build-up to such a devastating image, with the director focusing primarily on the connection between the rise of religious sentiment and the rise of the far right in Brazil.
While this connection has been made numerous times in film and literature, Apocalypse in the Tropics presents a thoroughly Brazilian version, replete with clever visual cues, beautiful imagery, and Costa's own determined, sensitive, and personal narration. Apocalypse in the Tropics is now available on Netflix and is a must-see for fans of serious documentary. It has been observed time and again throughout history that whenever there is a significant rise in the popularity of right-wing ideology, it is accompanied, or rather, adapted, by a strong sense of unity among the masses, leading them to justify injustice as a necessary measure of firmness.
Director: Petra Costa
Writers: Petra Costa, Alessandra Orofino, David Barker
Stars: Petra Costa, Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
The two most common unifying factors that unite people in such scenarios are nationalism and religion, the latter taking precedence in 21st-century right-wing ideology. The deep-rooted belief that modern life has rapidly pushed us into a morally and spiritually decrepit existence has often infiltrated the right-wing rhetoric of our times. But frequently, the veil of religion has been used for some ulterior motive, for religion has never been separate from politics in the history of human civilization. Although still used as a political tool in various contexts, Apocalypse in the Tropics explores the obvious but not always evident connection between religion and politics in contemporary Brazil, a country still at a juncture of development and widespread poverty.
Director Petra Costa offers a highly subjective look at the emerging social changes in her homeland, and the film begins with archival footage from 1960, when enthusiastic workers were finishing the construction of Brasília. This was to be Brazil's new capital, and while there were numerous administrative and logistical reasons behind the decision to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to the new city of Brasília, a major factor was also breaking with the Catholic colonial tradition that had always dominated Rio. Brazil, now independent and on the verge of spreading its wings to soar toward economic development, needed a new capital untainted by colonial history, and the city of Brasília was built appropriately. Modernist visions of progress, equality, and democracy drove the citizens of that time to build their new capital, rather than a blind faith in religion.
While these values and conceptions have been considered modern and rational for decades, the situation has slowly but steadily changed with the emergence of a negotiated, "modern" religious belief that accepts the fact that we have achieved certain technological, social, and scientific advances, but ultimately seeks to put religion back at the center of everything. Costa speaks of noticing this shift in Brazil's cultural and social fabric since around 2016, although there was also a solid reason behind it.
For decades, democracy's promises of equality and justice had been empty proclamations, which had greatly affected the country's economy and ultimately frustrated citizens to a critical point. Therefore, powerless people had to turn to a new belief system that offered them new promises of happiness, well-being, and abundance, and the way for the return of religion could not have been paved. As Brazilian citizens' frustration and despair with the political system grew, so did their inclination toward religion, and the popularity of evangelical Christianity continued to grow steadily.
Petra Costa considers the 2018 presidential elections in Brazil as the culmination of this growing popularity of evangelicalism, offering an in-depth look at how citizens gravitated toward a particular side through religion.
Jair Bolsonaro never hid his far-right nationalist sentiments from the beginning of his political career and gradually gained popularity thanks to his fundamental conservative views. Even in 2016, Bolsonaro was a low-ranking far-right politician who arguably did and said many things just to attract media attention. Many of his controversial actions were directed against left-wing liberals, and he had already made a name for himself in the far-right camp.
He openly opposed social reforms his political rivals wanted to introduce, such as the legalization of homosexuality and the introduction of sex education as a mandatory subject in schools, and he also promised everything right-wing supporters want to hear anywhere in the world. This included the promise of gun ownership and related rights, the abolition of special rights for marginalized communities, the illegalization of abortion, and, most importantly, the end of left-wing politics in Brazil. But just before entering the 2018 presidential race, Jair Bolsonaro established certain partnerships that were extremely necessary to boost his campaign, and one of the most important was with the popular televangelist Silas Malafaia.
Bolsonaro was already accustomed to the idea of leveraging religion, having adopted his wife's Christian religion early in his political career and begun to forge a Christian nationalist identity. Therefore, when Malafaia openly supported him during the presidential campaign, it was clearly a nod to the millions of people who watched and followed the religious preacher to encourage them to make the "right" choice on the ballot. Bolsonaro's main opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula, had already been imprisoned on corruption charges, and he took advantage of this situation to further criticize the Workers' Party and secure his victory in the elections.
Malafaia, who also appears in the documentary, actively campaigned for Bolsonaro, as he did not shy away from getting involved in the world of politics. As Malafaia himself states, his understanding of Christianity does not limit him to the church or certain sectors of life, such as education. Rather, it is his understanding of religion that compels him to be part of the most important sector of modern civilization: politics. With Malafaia at his side, Bolsonaro promised to establish an openly religious nation, in which Christianity and its values would dictate, or at least have a significant presence, in every facet of society.
He openly supported greater military control and promised to present his voters with a Brazil "of God." Right-wing supporters eventually found their voice in him, while those without strong political support but practicing Christians who wished their family and cultural values to remain intact actively supported him. Those tired of the Workers' Party's repeated acts of corruption and yearned for a change in the country's economic landscape decided to give him a chance. An assassination attempt in September 2018, just under two months before the elections, further strengthened his position, and finally, in October, Jair Bolsonaro won the election to become Brazil's new president.
Apocalypse in the Tropics also examines how evangelical Christianity took on its current form in Brazil, despite the fact that the Catholic religion has existed in the country for centuries, ever since the Portuguese began to spread and convert. By the time the Portuguese left and Brazil became a kingdom and then a republic, Christianity was already intrinsically rooted in the people's way of life. But something different began to happen in the 1950s and 1960s, when, as in many other countries around the world, Brazil's educated masses also began to see a glimmer of hope in communism.
The change in beliefs began to occur naturally from the grassroots, but unexpectedly, Catholic priests and religious leaders also began to participate indirectly. The priests were never directly interested in a political ideology, but rather taught their parishioners to question the existing world order, in which the socially and economically disadvantaged were always exploited or excluded, while the rich grew ever richer. Understandably, a wave of communist ideas and ideology swept through Brazilian society at the time as part of a movement called Liberation Theology, which spread to all Latin American countries. An unexpected fusion of religion with socialist beliefs, this theological movement propagated a compassionate religion toward the supposedly.
This situation naturally threatened the United States, which was already in the midst of the uncertain Cold War, and also Vatican City, which was losing influence in Latin America as the official Catholic Church was invaded by Liberation Theology. Multiple documents later revealed that the US government actively employed lobbying groups to reach Brazil and spread its Christianity through supposed English classes, a Christianity that accommodated capitalism. This was how the seeds of evangelical Christianity were sown in Brazil. Over time, this group grew significantly, became more popular, and, obviously, infiltrated the country's political structure. Under Bolsonaro's leadership, the largest number of evangelical priests made their way into the Brazilian Parliament.
By the next presidential election, in 2022, Luiz Inácio Lula had been released from prison and authorized to run for president, following an unexpected turn of events. In 2021, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court dismissed all charges against Lula, following an exhaustive investigation that revealed leaked messages involving the federal judge who led the previous investigation, Sergio Moro. These messages proved that Moro, the lead investigator, had conspired with the state prosecutor, Deltan Dallagnol, to convict Lula on corruption charges. It was clear that the presidential candidate had been convicted solely to prevent him from running, which conveniently removed any meaningful opposition from Bolsonaro's path.
Both President Bolsonaro and Silas Malafaia condemned Lula's release from prison, but nothing could be done about it. By then, Bolsonaro's presidential term had been plagued by global controversies, including his lack of concern for COVID-19, which made Brazil the second worst-affected country in the world, and also for large-scale deforestation in the Amazon. Those who had thought about giving him a chance had had enough, and the situation had begun to turn against him. But Apocalypse in the Tropics doesn't forget to mention that religion still played a key role, and in fact, this becomes a highlight of the film, as it makes clear that religion has become an easy tool for politicians, and it's evident that all sides are willing to make peace with religion at the first opportunity.
In a relatively old interview with the filmmaker, Lula is seen openly declaring that he has never and will never go to a church for a political campaign, and that he considers it a sacred place for silent religious worship. However, in the next scene, he is seen campaigning inside a church, having to enlist the help of evangelical priests who supported him to strengthen his chances in the upcoming elections. He also had to modify, or even completely eliminate, certain reform promises he had previously made, which ultimately benefited his position.
Following the runoff election in October 2022, Luiz Inácio Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro by a margin of approximately two million votes and was elected the new president of Brazil. Although Lula had just been elected president, 49.10% of voters still trusted Bolsonaro and his Liberal Party, angering many. Bolsonaro's refusal to openly accept defeat when addressing the public the following day added fuel to the fire, while evangelical pastors and certain media outlets made repeated insinuations.
All of this so enraged Bolsonaro's supporters that they decided to take matters into their own hands, after repeatedly calling for a military coup, as they believed the election had been rigged. Finally, on the morning of January 7, 2023, thousands of protesters marched toward the Plaza of the Three Powers in Brasília, the nerve center of all administrative buildings, and stormed Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Presidential Palace. Every building was looted and vandalized, and the fiasco received widespread media coverage. Unfortunately for this angry mob, willing to do anything to bring justice to their beloved president, Jair Bolsonaro wasn't even in the country at the time. In late December 2022, Bolsonaro left for Florida, where he remained for the next three months, witnessing the chaos he had wreaked on his country after being remotely removed from power.
The politician's "escape" to the United States just after the election results was criticized by many, including Silas Malafaia.
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