Bolsonaro supporters hold firm in Amazon’s stronghold

• Antonio Denarium is seeking re-election as governor of Roraima, a conservative state in Brazil’s Amazon region.
• He is an outspoken supporter of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is popular with evangelical voters.
• The far-right candidate trails left-wing rival Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva by double-digits in national polls.

Antonio Denarium closes his eyes and prays while standing centre stage at a campaign event. Hundreds of others in the crowd make the same gesture, which is commonly associated with Brazil’s evangelical Christian community.

Courting the religious vote is a wise strategy for any politician in Roraima, a conservative region of Brazil’s Amazon bordering Venezuela and Guyana.

Denarium, who is running for re-election as state governor, has been an outspoken supporter of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right president who is popular among evangelical voters and has more support in Roraima than in any other state.

Denarium paints a rosy picture of the embattled president’s chances of re-election following the event: “President Bolsonaro will be re-elected.” He is our partner, our friend, and he will assist us in rebuilding Brazil and the state of Roraima.”

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Bolsonaro is trailing left-wing former President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva by a double-digit margin in national polls ahead of Sunday’s election. Some analysts have even cautiously increased the odds of Lula receiving more than 50% of the vote, avoiding a runoff – though a second round remains likely.

However, according to Ipec polls, Bolsonaro has a solid lead in Roraima, with 62 percent support to Lula’s 18 percent. The president’s hardline views on street crime and religious conservatism, as well as his laissez-faire approach to economic and environmental regulation, are popular in many parts of Brazil, particularly in frontier, agricultural, or extraction-based states like Roraima.

“Almost all candidates here in Roraima are surfing Bolsonaro’s last waves,” political scientist Paulo Racoski, who teaches at the Federal Institute of Roraima, said.

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