Just days before the runoff election for president in Brazil, a 13-second TikTok video has electrified supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro.
Soccer star Neymar spoke out in favor of his re-election.
The video, posted on Sept. 29, showed Neymar dancing to a campaign jingle highlighting Bolsonaro’s position on the ballot, and the president immediately shared it on social media.
Although the Paris St. Germain forward did not comment on his posting, aside from playing the song from his lips, he threw down the gauntlet to other footballers to show their support for the conservative leader, including internationals Thiago Silva and Daniel Alves.
Without mentioning Bolsonaro by name, they shared posts with some of his catchphrases, including slogans famous among Brazil’s evangelical Christians, who overwhelmingly support him.
In a country where evangelical churches have gained a strong foothold in poorer communities and are eroding the Catholic majority, many footballers wear their evangelical faith on their sleeves.
“There’s a slogan I love,” said Alves, who invokes a Bolsonaro phrase: “Brazil above all, God above all.”
Bolsonaro lost the first round to his leftist challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by a narrower-than-expected margin, setting up a runoff on Oct. 30.
The remarks on social media underscored growing evidence that many of Brazil’s most prominent soccer players are now leaning toward the right.
Many players favor conservative politicians because of their own life stories, according to sports commentator Juca Kfouri, who pointed out that most soccer stars in Brazil come from poor neighborhoods and rise to fame through their talent.
“Therefore, they tend to be self-centered and repeat the authoritarian talk of meritocracy,” said Kfouri, who supports Lula da Silva.
Anthropologist Roberto DaMatta also singled out soccer as an essential tool for progress in Brazil. Still, he added that without more profound research, it would be difficult to draw a firm conclusion about players’ political preferences.
“It would be quite speculative.”
Neymar’s video has been viewed nearly 60 million times on Bolsonaro’s Instagram account alone.
While sharing it, the president linked his possible victory to the record sixth World Cup title Brazil could win this year in Qatar.
Before Neymar, players such as Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura and Fluminense’s Felipe Melo had already sided with Bolsonaro.
Still, the support from the national team’s No. 10 sparked an even broader reaction.
He was joined by former players such as 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo and former Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
“Neymar, we’re on the same page again,” Cesar said.