"Pentecostalism is the largest self-organized movement of urban poor in the world," according to the U.S. urban specialist Mike Davis. His opinions on this religious movement tend to be rejected outright by many leftist intellectuals. However, Davis is convinced that "many people on the left have made the mistake of assuming that Pentecostalism is a reactionary force—and it's not." "Pentecostals not only get many people away from alcohol, but also occasionally get them to give up drug trafficking and delinquency. And they do it without pressure. However, Pentecostals are also a social and political force, not just religious. In an historical irony, the largest left party on the Latin American continent, the Workers Party (PT), created by the Catholic Church and other entities, came into power with a Pentecostal vice president, José Alencar.
The vice president's Brazilian Republican Party (PRB), created in 2005 and linked to the Universal Church, is the fastest growing political force in the country. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God to which he belongs controls 70 television and 50-plus radio stations, a bank, several newspapers, and has 3,500 temples. Its Record TV Network vies for the largest audience against the legendary Globo Network and earns a billion dollars a year.
"It's a question of giving people alternatives and hopes for a better future". Of the 550 total legislative representatives in Brazil, 61 are Pentecostals, and 91 call themselves militant Catholics. "Anyone living in the urban peripheries of today's Brazil, can confirm that this is an important phenomenon. Many participants in the Homeless Workers Movement are also members of the local Pentecostal church. We cannot forget that religion played an important role in the formation of our left," says Marco Fernandes, an historian and social psychologist who participates in the Homeless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto, MTST).
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