24 Facts About Marcelo Crivella

Marcelo Crivella served as the mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro from 1 January 2017 until 31 December 2020.

In 2002, Marcelo Crivella was elected as a federal Senator of Brazil from the state of Rio de Janeiro on the Liberal Party ticket.

Marcelo Crivella has since helped found the Brazilian Republican Party which has been allied with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The project was developed to use Israeli irrigation practices, which Marcelo Crivella has observed in his several trips to Israel.

Marcelo Crivella is a bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an international evangelical church founded by his uncle Edir Macedo in 1977.

Marcelo Crivella studied at Santa Ursula University in Civil Engineering and obtained a Bachelor of Science in 1984.

Marcelo Crivella became pastor and bishop, having worked ten years diffusing the Universal Church in the African continent.

Marcelo Crivella has recorded as a singer, often using his own songs.

Marcelo Crivella has released 14 disks, selling more than 5 million copies.

Marcelo Crivella is considered a preacher of the prosperity gospel.

Marcelo Crivella entered political life, being a founder of the Brazilian Republican Party, and ran successfully for the position of Senator in the 2002 elections.

In 2006 Marcelo Crivella ran for governor of Rio de Janeiro state.

Marcelo Crivella ran for mayor of the capital in 2004 and 2008, but was unsuccessful in the three races.

Marcelo Crivella complained about negative coverage by O Globo newspaper, owned by the second-largest media conglomerate in the country, which published several articles accusing him of fraud.

Polls put him in second place, but he was beaten by Denise Frossard, the candidate of the PPS, and Marcelo Crivella declined to participate in the runoff election.

Marcelo Crivella reached the second round but was defeated on his running for Governor of Rio de Janeiro in 2014 by Luiz Fernando Pezao.

In 2016, Marcelo Crivella won the election for Rio de Janeiro Mayor beating left-wing candidate Marcelo Freixo by about 20 percentage points.

Marcelo Crivella is the first Pentecostal to govern a big Brazilian city.

On 22 December 2020, just nine days before the end of his term as mayor, Marcelo Crivella was arrested at his home in Rio de Janeiro, after investigations on a kickback corruption scheme during his administration.

Marcelo Crivella was president of the Subcomissao Permanente de Protecao dos Cidadaos Brasileiros no Exterior, subject to the Comissao de Relacoes Exteriores e Defesa Nacional, of which Crivella was vice president.

Marcelo Crivella identifies as a conservative politician but he has been a great ally of President Lula.

Marcelo Crivella opposes civil unions for homosexuals and the codification of homophobia.

Marcelo Crivella has been criticized for his 1999 book Evangelizing Africa in which he said that homosexuality was a "terrible evil", that Catholics were demonic, that African religions were based on "evil spirits", and that Hindus drank their children's blood.

Marcelo Crivella has since tried to distance himself from the book, saying that it was the work of a young, immature missionary.