Cabo Daciolo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cabo Daciolo
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 1 February 2015 – 1 February 2019
Constituency	Rio de Janeiro
Personal details
Born	Benevenuto Daciolo Fonseca dos Santos (1976-03-30) 30 March 1976 (age 49) Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Political party	Republicans (2024–present)
Other political affiliations	See list PSOL (2014–2015) Avante (2015–2018) Patriota (2018–2019) PODE (2019–2020) PL (2020) PTB (2021) PROS (2022) PMB (2021–2022) PDT (2022–2024)
Spouse	Cristiane Daciolo ​ (died 2023)​
Residences	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Profession	Military firefighter
Military service
Allegiance	Brazil
Branch/service	Military Firefighters Corps
Rank	3rd Sergeant

Benevenuto Daciolo Fonseca dos Santos (born March 30, 1976), known as Cabo Daciolo (which means Corporal Daciolo in English), is a Brazilian military firefighter, a pastor, and a politician. He is currently part of the Republicans political party. In 2014, he was elected to serve as a federal deputy.

Daciolo became well-known in 2011. He was one of the leaders during a firefighters' strike in Rio de Janeiro. The striking firefighters took over their headquarters and camped outside the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ). Daciolo was arrested and held for nine days. He became nationally famous when he ran for president in the 2018 Brazilian general election. He received 1,348,323 votes, which was 1.26% of all valid votes, placing him 6th. Although widely known as Corporal Daciolo, he was promoted to 3rd Sergeant by the Rio de Janeiro Military Firefighters Corps in 2014 before he retired later that year.

About Cabo Daciolo's Life

Benevenuto Daciolo was born in Florianópolis, Brazil. He was married to Cristiane Daciolo, a journalist, who passed away on August 29, 2023. They had three children together. Daciolo studied tourism before becoming a firefighter. He gained public attention in 2011 during the firefighters' strike in Rio de Janeiro. He was arrested for nine days during this event. Daciolo is also a religious leader, having been a member of the Bola de Neve Church and later the Assembly of God Evangelical Church.

Cabo Daciolo's Political Journey

Cabo Daciolo started his political career with the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL). He was elected as a federal representative for Rio de Janeiro in the 2014 state elections.

Early Political Controversies

In March 2015, Daciolo had a disagreement with his party. He supported the release of 12 police officers who were accused in a case involving a bricklayer. In May of the same year, PSOL decided to remove Daciolo from the party. This happened after he suggested changing the first part of the Constitution of Brazil. He wanted it to say "all the power comes from God" instead of "all the power comes from the people." His party believed this went against the idea of a secular state, where government and religion are separate.

During the vote to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, Daciolo supported her removal. He also criticized other important political figures and media outlets at that time.

In December 2017, Daciolo was cleared of some legal charges by the Supreme Federal Court. This was because of a law he himself had proposed. This law gave amnesty (forgiveness) to military firefighters and police officers who took part in strikes between 2011 and 2015. On March 28, 2018, his party, Patriota, announced him as a candidate for President of Brazil.

In July 2018, during a session in the Chamber of Deputies, Daciolo spoke about a fellow lawmaker, Mara Gabrilli, who uses a wheelchair. Daciolo spent most of his election campaign at Monte das Oliveiras, a place in Rio de Janeiro.

For the 2022 presidential elections, Daciolo supported Ciro Gomes. He almost joined the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). On March 15, 2022, he announced he would run for governor of Rio de Janeiro for the Republican Party of the Social Order (PROS). However, his party later decided not to support his candidacy. On April 2, 2022, he joined PDT to run for senator.

Running for President

In the 2018 presidential election, Daciolo ran for the Patriota party. He finished as the 6th most voted candidate. He received 1,348,323 votes, which was more than candidates like Henrique Meirelles and Marina Silva. After the final results were announced, Daciolo questioned the numbers. He criticized the electronic voting machines. He filed a complaint with the Superior Electoral Court, asking for the votes to be canceled. However, the court stated that his concerns were not supported by facts. They confirmed there was no fraud related to the electronic voting machines, which have been used since 1996.

During his campaign, Daciolo made some memorable and unique statements. For example, he said he would be elected president:

...I'm prophesying for the Brazilian nation, I will be the next President of the Republic, for the honor and glory of Lord Jesus, in the first round with 51% of the votes...

His statements, which often included religious references and ideas about messianism and conspiracy theories, made him a popular figure and a meme on the internet. His way of speaking made him well-known, especially among Evangelical voters who supported him.

During a debate with other candidates, Daciolo claimed that Ciro Gomes, another candidate, was one of the founders of the São Paulo Forum. He also questioned Gomes about his involvement in creating a supposed "Union of Socialist Republics of Latin America," called URSAL. Gomes replied that he was not a founder and knew nothing about this "Union," which made the audience laugh. This moment led to many funny memes the next day.

Election Results

Presidential Elections

See also

In Spanish: Cabo Daciolo para niños