TO THE LEFT OF THE WORLD, TO THE RIGHT OF GOD: EVANGELICALS IN THE HOUSING MOVEMENT IN THE FIDEL CASTRO OCCUPATION, UBERLÂNDIA-MG

Abstract

The movements fighting to expand rights, including the right to housing, marked Brazil's democratic transition in the 1980s and had a major impact on the relationships established in Brazilian cities, especially in the large metropolises, where the issue of housing is crossed by an intense commercial dispute over real estate speculation that makes the living conditions of urban occupants precarious and gives rise to disputes among those who want decent housing and better conditions in the cities. In view of this, this article seeks to understand the dynamics between social movements for housing, especially the MTST in Uberlândia-MG, and the evangelical faithful, analyzing how Pentecostalism elaborates and re-elaborates the experience of the occupants in this space. Since the 1990s, with the rise of pentecostal groups in urban spaces, new social dynamics have emerged, redefining these places that are now configured based on other ways and are built with and from these new actors, but how does this happen? What interests are at stake? The research, which is still in progress, includes a survey to map the characteristics of the occupants, such as income, health, education and political preferences, participant observation in the occupation during the year 2024 and semi-structured interviews with only evangelicals. The provisional data shows that 45% of the occupiers are evangelicals, 65% of the respondents have no party preference and there is a significant rate of non-voters, even in a social movement linked to a political party (PSOL).