Entertainment politics: Brazilian celebrities’ transition to politics,recent history and main patterns

Celebrities, a slippery social category

Who do we consider as ‘celebrities’ for our purposes and who not? In what ways do ‘celebrities’ differ from other associated concepts, such as ‘stars’ or simply ‘famous personalities’? Since celebrity is a relatively new concept in social research, the literature offers divergent approaches to it. Some of the studies dealing with this phenomenon have defined it in critical terms, pointing to the lack of merit of celebrities and emphasizing the role that cultural industries play in the construction of their notoriousness (Boorstin, 2012: 57; Marshall, 1997). Other studies, which could be defined as post-structuralist, highlight the multidirectional forces articulating the rise of celebrities, making room for previously neglected social actors, such as the audiences and the individuals labelled as celebrities (Dyer, 1986; Gamson, 1994; Rojek, 2001). Despite the different approaches, almost all of these studies agree on the central place of mass media in the flourishing of celebrity culture, and the far-reaching impact that celebrity culture has had since the late 1980s, during which a major shift from manufacturing to service economies has occurred.

From the point of view of this study, David Marshall’s definition of celebrities as a ‘cluster of individuals, [who] are given a greater presence and wider scope of activity and agency than are those who make up the rest of the population’, and as a ‘system for valorising meaning and communication’ (Marshall, 1997: ix–x), may seem to be the most convenient. Avoiding a professional classification and focusing on celebrity as a ‘system’ allows us to discern how fame and prestige accumulated in one area of the field of the entertainment-media industries could, under certain conditions, be transformed into influence and prestige in other fields of power. But such a definition leaves many of our subjects of study in a twilight zone. For the purposes of this study I decided to consider only celebrities who are known for their work in the entertainment-media industries, and who have run, or at least seriously considered running, for public office. Thus, while Marshall’s definition may seem accurate, at least theoretically, it is inadequate for our purposes.

The question of whether the transition of media celebrities into the arena of politics is a representative phenomenon confronts us with many challenges. Using statistics in order to answer this question seems pointless. ‘Celebrity’, at least so far, is not a registered occupation, so there is no way of working out the percentage of celebrities among the whole population. In addition, celebrities, although or possibly because they are a phenomenon that is closely linked with the emergence of democracy and capitalism, are by definition an extremely tiny group (Marshall, 1997). A qualitative evaluation of the passage from a career in the media into politics also poses some difficulty. How do we evaluate celebrity performance in politics? By the success achieved in the polls? By the prestige of their public office? By the impact their new career had in the media? None of these questions is in itself enough to provide a comprehensive explanation for the phenomenon we are trying to elucidate.

Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital as a meta-capital which under specific conditions could be transferred from one field to another seems particularly conducive to understanding the transition from the field of the entertainment-media industries to the field of politics (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 114; Couldry, 2003: 672). Following Bourdieu’s field theory, Miguel analysed the conditions for the transformation of media capital into electoral power. Having analysed the results of the parliamentary elections between the years 1986 and 1998, he concluded that media capital did not exert an overwhelming influence on the politicians’ chances of success in the polls (Miguel, 2003). Miguel also points to a correlation between the prestige of the field in which the celebrity candidate participated before entering politics, and the position they could aspire to. He also observes a correlation between the candidate’s image as a media personality and their programmatic proposals as a candidate. The present work proposes to complete the analysis begun by Miguel, by focusing on the relations between media celebrities, the particular fields within the cultural industries from which they came, and their performance in the political sphere.

For the purposes of this article, I have chosen to analyse five cases of famous media celebrities who migrated to the political sphere at two different periods: 1982–90 (Agnaldo Timóteo and Silvio Santos), and 2006–12 (Clodovil, Tiririca and Romario). The cases analysed in this article were selected according to three main criteria: the impact of their candidacy on the media and the public sphere in general; their success in the polls; and the status of the office for which they were running. For example, during the first period, several local radio and television celebrities who ran for public office in peripheral state campaigns were excluded from consideration in this article (Chances desiguais, 1990: 20). While such campaigns undoubtedly represent an interesting case, I chose to focus on high-impact national candidates. The case of renowned Brazilian musician, Gilberto Gil, who served during 2003–8 as Brazil’s Minister of Culture, was excluded from this article because Gil did not run as candidate but was directly appointed by the Brazilian president. Gil’s case is certainly fascinating and could shed light on the relation between the Brazilian music industry, social activism and ethnic identity in Brazil; this article, however, seeks to focus on the direct relation between electoral politics and celebrity candidates.

Celebrities in politics, the first period: as the military regime withdraws, celebrities offer an alternative to party infrastructure

The first period in which the passage of celebrities to politics is observed in Brazil could be framed as the transition period from an authoritarian military regime towards a democracy with direct presidential elections. Brazil’s return to democracy was a slow and gradual process, during which the ruling military elite managed to prevent left-wing elements and other political rivals from taking power after their own withdrawal from government. In 1979, an amnesty law allowed for the return of exiled politicians and persecuted activists, and a year later a new law was approved, ending the two-party system and allowing the formation of new political parties. In 1985, following 21 years of military rule, a civilian was finally elected as president of the Brazilian Republic in indirect elections; it was only in 1989 that a civilian president was elected in direct elections (Netto, 2004; Skidmore, 1988; Stepan, 1989).

Among the reasons frequently given for the recruitment of media stars in this particular period, one could mention the weakening of the political parties as a direct result of the authoritarian years; the absence of candidates with any long-standing activity in the public sphere; and the large number of new political parties competing for elected official positions (Mainward, 1993; Miguel, 2003: 118).

The recruitment of the popular singer Agnaldo Timóteo to the Democratic Workers’ Party (PDT) is among the most interesting cases from this period. A charismatic Afro-Brazilian Bolero-style singer, Timóteo was a highly controversial figure within and outside the stage, due to his bellicose personality, lavish consumption habits and hinted homosexuality (Araújo, 2002: 140–6; Echeverria and Nunes, 1980: 3–6). Timóteo was elected in 1982 as the most voted-for candidate for the office of Rio de Janeiro State Federal Deputy (O Congresso de 1983 o novo poder, 1982: 67). Having no previous career in politics, towards the end of the 1970s Timóteo began to look for a way to make a foray into the nascent political party sphere, offering himself as a candidate to various political parties with often conflicting ideological creeds (Araújo, 2002). After some doubts, Timóteo was finally recruited by PDT, the oppositionist party founded and led by Leonel Brizola, a prominent veteran left-wing leader, who had just returned to Brazil from a long political exile.

During the 1982 Rio de Janeiro state elections, Timóteo played a highly active role in his party’s campaign, offering free shows for the public and attracting wide media interest. His Afro-Brazilian heritage, humble background and great appeal to the low-income masses all played a key role in Brizola’s decision to offer him a place as a candidate for the office of Federal Deputy. Any attempt to explain why a prestigious politician with a long-standing career, who had just returned to Brazil after 15 years in political exile, should become involved with such a controversial figure, must consider the precarious position of opposition parties while the military corporations and their civilian allies still held the power. The new political configuration, with fresh new actors among the left-wing sector, such as the Workers Party (PT) under the charismatic leadership of Luiz Inazio ‘Lula’ da Silva, probably had an impact on Brizola’s decision to welcome Timóteo into the party ranks.

Within the new political context, choosing media figures as candidates could have been perceived by Brizola as a good strategy for overcoming negative media coverage and compensating for the lack of large party cadres and party structure. Looking at the election results, Brizola’s strategy regarding Timóteo was clearly not a success. After being elected as Federal Deputy as the most voted-for candidate, Timóteo refused to be an ornamental figure, rejecting Brizola’s centralized leadership style and demanding a space in the party’s decision-making process. Brizola’s refusal to share power with Timóteo led to a break between the two, with mutual accusations made in the public eye. The media scandal that followed the open confrontation between Brizola and Timóteo severely damaged the PDT’s public image and eroded Brizola’s prestige among his followers (O bate- boca moreno, 1983: 36–8; Cena de bolero, 1984: 23).

While Brizola’s motivation for inviting media figures into his party ranks seems clear enough, one should ask why a popular singer without any previous background of political activism would decide to start a career as a politician. One of the possible explanations for Timóteo’s decision could be linked to his constant attempts to be acknowledged as a valuable singer by Brazilian cultural elites. In an interview he gave to Veja magazine in 1980 (Echeverria and Nunes, 1980), before he became a professional politician, Timóteo complained bitterly about the fact he did not enjoy the prestige and recognition awarded to other highbrow left-wing musicians like Chico Buarque, Maria Bethania and Gilberto Gil. Timóteo probably reasoned that joining a left-wing politician respected by Rio de Janeiro’s cultural elites could help in gaining the recognition denied him. Following Bourdieu’s (1984) analysis of the cultural field, Timóteo’s move towards the political sphere could be construed as aimed at improving his status and prestige within the field of Brazilian popular music.

Judging from the wide and generally positive media coverage he received during this period, Timóteo’s move into the political sphere seems to have been a successful career choice. At the time, Timóteo’s performance in politics as well as in the artistic sphere was the focus of many in-depth interviews and articles in the written press. His private life, consumption habits, massive shows and political activity appear all intermingled in the media coverage, effectively turning Timóteo into an omnipresent public figure. Among his most important media appearances of the period, we should mention a special TV programme devoted to Timóteo’s career, which was broadcast by Globo Network in August 1983, as part of a television programming schedule that was often dedicated to prestigious Brazilian popular musicians (Souto Maior, 2006: 775–830).

Despite his great appeal among the popular classes, in his political agenda and actions Timóteo was far from committed to the subaltern classes. His move into the political sphere seems to have been more aimed at gaining personal power and possibly economic benefits. His public confrontation with Leonel Brizola a few months after his election as Federal Deputy was not about public policies or popular claims, but about his wish to provide his cronies with employment in the public administration. Having been the most voted-for candidate for the office of Federal Deputy, Timóteo must have been expecting to promptly convert his electoral power into political power and influence within the government apparatus, but his hopes were promptly crushed.

His turbulent beginnings notwithstanding, Timóteo continued to participate in Brazilian political life, mostly in lower legislative posts. In 1994 he was re-elected once more as Federal Deputy, and later as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo City Councillor, a clear decline in comparison to his promising starting point. His conservative views on social issues, his frequent switches between political parties and his refusal to establish partnerships with groups with which he shared the same social-ethnic background all harmed his chances of ever becoming a significant political figure.

The second emblematic case of the transition period selected for analysis in this article is the aborted presidential candidacy of Silvio Santos, an extremely popular television host and owner of the SBT Television Network, in the 1989 presidential elections. Santos was unable to go ahead with his candidacy after it had been blocked by the Supreme Electoral Court in a highly controversial decision, but his case can still contribute to a deeper understanding of the patterns of transition from media to politics in Brazil.

In 1989, the year of the first direct presidential elections in Brazil since the 1964 military coup, Silvio Santos was already a very powerful entrepreneur, owner of the second largest television network in the country, and its leading television personality, also hosting a popular weekly show in front of a live studio audience. Santos’s presidential candidacy was a source of concern and anxiety across the entire political spectrum because it was widely acknowledged that it would affect the chances of both left-wing and conservative candidates (Mainward, 1993: 694).

Since his humble beginnings as a peddler in Rio de Janeiro, through his radio and television programmes, Silvio Santos has always linked his business ventures with the less-favoured groups of the Brazilian population. Most of his television shows and chain stores marketed electric household appliances to the lower classes, facilitating their access to these products through hire-purchase schemes in monthly instalments. The fantasy of being personally close to Santos was a decisive factor in motivating low-income television viewers to purchase expensive products at Santos’s stores (Mira, 1994). In addition, the strong censorship and constraints suffered by the most popular live studio television shows during the military rule in Brazil never plagued Silvio Santos’s programme. Holding a solid economic position, Santos was able to skilfully slow down the ratings race with his competitors by reducing the share of bizarre attractions in his programmes, while establishing close and personal links with regime officers. Such links were certainly critical for winning a licence from the national government to establish a national television network at the beginning of the 1980s (Ribke, 2010).

One of the central questions regarding Santos’s decision to run for president should be: why would an extremely wealthy and powerful entrepreneur make such a choice? This question is even more striking when taking into account that Santos’s continuous exposure in the media as a popular host and as the owner of a powerful economic conglomerate could have granted him sufficient influence in government decisions without having to expose himself that much.

We offer two possible answers to this question. First, since his early beginnings as a local market attraction, Silvio Santos has always had a very high media profile. He was the owner of a national television network; he was also the network’s most valuable asset. The programmes he hosted were the most popular on the network schedule and he was also its main advertiser and sponsor (Mira, 1994:72). He was and still is a widely known public figure, highly charismatic among the lower classes – the main followers of his programmes, who avidly consumed the products he advertised on TV. In this sense, we could assume that, from Santos’s point of view, ‘selling’ himself as a political candidate to his loyal audience would not be very different from selling them other products associated with his name. But his being the main figure of his own network’s contents and its main advertiser at the same time had placed him in a position of permanent weakness against the almost monopolistic leadership of Globo Network, his arch-competitor. One cannot ignore the possibility that Santos assumed that being the ultimate leader of the country and controlling its economic policy could contribute in many ways to stabilize and even strengthen further his corporation’s position in the Brazilian market vis-a-vis his competitors. This could also explain the strong objection to Santos’s presidential candidacy, not only among the traditional political parties but also among the biggest entrepreneurial groups.

The second answer we could offer takes into account Santos’s peculiar biography. In opposition to Roberto Marinho, the almighty owner of Globo Network, Santos’s personal history has always been presented as that of a ‘self-made man’. Starting from very humble background and without the support of his family, Santos achieved enormous economic success in building a powerful economic conglomerate (Silva, 2000). In analysing Santos’s economic and political strategies, we should take into account that he did not have a previously established path to follow. He was the owner of huge economic empire, but it seems that the entire operation rested solely on his charismatic skills as a television entertainer. The fact that he had no business ‘lineage’ may have affected his decision to run for president.

Despite evident differences in their social background and political careers, we could draw some parallels between Silvio Santos and Silvio Berlusconi’s trajectories. In addition to their position as owners of economic conglomerates which include many media enterprises, both Santos and Berlusconi share a public image that combines ‘entertainer’ skills with ‘salesman’ features (Allum, 2011: 282; Lyttelton, 2009: 68). Both shared the reputation of a ‘self-made man’, although there are serious questions about the way in which both have built their business empires; and both are defined as affiliated with the right wing of the political spectrum. In both cases, their transition to politics has been interpreted as also designed to keep their own economic interests safe from the ups and downs of the political and economic conjunctures of their respective countries.

Celebrities in politics, the second period: democracy as an additional branch of the entertainment industries

The second wave of media celebrities who made the move to Brazilian politics share many features with those of the first wave, but there are also significant differences from the first period’s pioneers. Much as in the first period, minor political parties tried to recruit media personalities with strong popular appeal in order to attract voters and compensate for the lack of economic resources to be invested in expensive political campaigns (Mello, 2010: 64). But, unlike in the first period, the second witnessed the entry of a far greater number of celebrities, most of them from less ‘prestigious’ fields within the entertainment-media industries. Retired football stars, television hosts, a television clown, a former boxing champion, and even a former reality show participant, have all been elected to federal and state legislative posts (Sassine, 2011). While during the first period celebrity candidates at least made some efforts to articulate a political discourse related to their party programme, projecting a sense of a break between one stage of their career and the other, in the second period celebrity candidates actually marketed their transition to politics as a clear continuation of their previous careers.

In this section we analyse the performance of Clodovil Hernandes, a fashion designer and television host; Tiririca, a clown and television personality; and Romario, a former football superstar. The huge amount of votes they garnered and the high media impact of their election make their cases fascinating examples of the changes that occurred during this period.

The professional career of Clodovil Hernandes, who died in 2009 while officiating as Federal Deputy, provides a clear example not only of the mediatization of politics but also of the cultural and economic changes that occurred in Brazil as a result of the modernization and industrialization processes during the second half of the 20th century. Hernandes started his career as personal dressmaker for the female members of the Brazilian elite. According to many sources, Hernandes had failed to adapt himself to the changes in the fashion design industry towards a market of mass production and consumption, finding alternative employment in the television industry (Leite Neto, 2009: 10). His first television appearances were during the 1970s, as a guest in live studio shows offering fashion and lifestyle advice to the audience. Along with Dener Pamplona, another famous fashion designer of that period, Clodovil stood out for his overtly effeminate and excessive mannerisms, which greatly boosted their popularity among mass audiences, but at the same time caused many conflicts with the military regime’s officers (Ribke, 2011, 2013).

During the 1980s Clodovil consolidated his career in the television industry, becoming during the middle of the decade the leading figure in his own television show. Famous for his controversial statements and flamboyant behaviour, Clodovil ran as a candidate for the Federal Deputy post in 2006, under the auspices of the tiny Christian Labour Party (PTC); he became the third most voted-for Federal Deputy, representing São Paulo (Escoteguy, 2009). His political campaign was in much the same vein as his television persona: making controversial statements, making insinuations about his sexual orientation, and promising the voters to turn the monotonous and tedious world of legislative politics into a glamorous and exciting experience. ‘Do you think I’m passive? Provoke me and you will see’, and ‘With me, Brasilia will never be the same’ were his most recurring campaign slogans (Cimino, 2006).

Ironically, despite his provocative manners, Clodovil stood out for his conservative political viewpoint and his derogatory comments about homosexuals and other minorities (Escoteguy, 2009: 92–3). There are many common features between the political path followed by Clodovil and that of the musician Agnaldo Timóteo in the first period. While both emerged from a very humble socio-economic background and had achieved fame and wealth, in their political activity they both refused to represent racial and sexual minorities with whom they could have (and should have) identified. In their case, the transition to politics seems to be motivated strictly by personal ambition and career management considerations.

Notwithstanding these similarities between Timóteo and Clodovil, there are also significant differences in their approach to politics. These differences could be ascribed to the changes in the relationship between the entertainment industries and the political sphere that took place between the first and the second period. Unlike Timóteo, Clodovil never made serious efforts to ‘transform himself into a politician’. He did not change his language to a more formal register and, unlike Timóteo, he made no attempt to present or defend a political programme. Clodovil’s political performance was marked by his outward rejection of any institutional political discourse. Instead of a view of politics as the process of arduous negotiation between interest groups for power and resources, Clodovil’s performance in Brasilia was depicted as a mere extension of his media entertainment activities. From the media coverage of the décor of his parliamentary office through to the vociferous disputes and the comments he made about his parliamentary colleagues, Clodovil’s activity as a politician seemed to follow the codes and forms of the Brazilian live studio television genre, from which he emerged as a celebrity.

During his term in public office as a Federal Deputy, Clodovil continued to host a television programme called By His Excellency, in which he included wide coverage of his own work in Brasilia, along with incessant, often very offensive comments about his parliamentary colleagues (A casa sua, 2007; Loprete, 2007: 4). In this sense, we could assert that the two fields of action in which Clodovil participated were complementary, allowing him to increase his visibility both in the media and in the political sphere. If his constant participation in television programmes allowed him to be elected without the support of a heavy party infrastructure, his work as a Federal Deputy added a new interest to his television persona, improving his bargaining power vis-a-vis his television network employers (Teophilo, 2006: 53).

The recent election of Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, publicly known as Tiririca, to the office of Federal Deputy, seems to go a step further in the merging of mass media entertainment forms and political campaigns. Dressed in his clown costume, Tiririca launched a provocative campaign marked by hilarious and sarcastic comments. With his major Sertanejo (music genre) hit, ‘Florentina’, as the background music for his political messages, Tiririca’s campaign attracted enormous attention from the media, turning him into the second most voted-for Federal Deputy, with more than 1.3 million votes (Mello, 2010: 94–6).

Apart from the obvious similarities with the cases described above, there is a major difference between them and Tiririca in terms of their status as media celebrities. Prior to his election, Tiririca had a very modest career in mass media. A migrant from north-eastern Brazil with an extremely underprivileged background, Tiririca began his career early in his childhood as a circus artist, gradually becoming famous in the north-eastern regions. During the second half of the 1990s he recorded three music albums with some popular success owing to his picaresque lyrics. Since then he has participated in various comedy shows on television as a guest, but always in middling or low-ratings television networks (Pompeu, 2010: 16).

Representing the tiny centre-right Republic Party (PR), Tiririca transformed himself into an important media celebrity through the media exposure he gained as a candidate for the office of Federal Deputy (Mello, 2010: 63). Launching an audacious and provocative campaign, Tiririca urged Brazilian voters to vote for him, embracing an ‘anti-politics’ discourse. ‘Vote for me; it could not be worse than it is now’, and ‘I don’t know what a congressman does; vote for me, and I will tell you later’, were two of his most acclaimed campaign slogans, which turned him into the second most voted-for candidate for Federal Deputy office in Brazilian history (Gallo, 2010: 12). His surprising success in the polls led to a widespread public debate in the media. His irreverent and easygoing style, along with his lack of basic cultural capital, scandalized Brazilian elites, who saw his electoral achievement as a clear sign of the political system’s failure (Dimentstein, 2010: 14; Toledo, 2010: 158). After the election, Tiririca was accused of being illiterate, an accusation that, if proved correct, could have barred him from assuming his post as Federal Deputy. In what could be seen as a humiliating move, impregnated with racist and classist prejudices deeply rooted in Brazil’s colonial past, Tiririca was submitted to a test to prove his literacy skills (Pellegrini and Machado, 2010: 10).

Tiririca is still in office, but we can already draw some partial conclusions based on his performance in the Brazilian Congress until now. First, Tiririca showed up in Congress without the carnivalesque clown costume he used in his television shows and election campaign. Instead, he attended his public office dressed in expensive Armani suits, following the formal codes of attire of senior Congress members (Cheguei um bom dia …, 2010: 6). Despite the strong media focus on his performance in Congress, he did not participate actively in parliamentary debates and remained silent for most of the time (Jardim, 2011). Looking serious and even sad without his clown mask, Tiririca methodically attended the Congress sessions, but he did so as a first-grader mistakenly placed in an academic programme surrounded by confident elite students. Frustrated by his ineffective parliamentary role, in February 2013 Tiririca announced his retirement from politics and his wish to return to his work as a clown (Falcao and Matais, 2013: 7).

Romario de Soiza Faria Lima, better known to football fans as Romario, was elected in the 2010 elections as Federal Deputy representing the State of Rio de Janeiro. Considered one of the best football players of his generation and winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup with Brazil’s national team, Romario was also a very controversial figure both on and off the pitch. His outstanding performances with the ball were nearly always followed by undisciplined conduct, fights with colleagues and managers, and financial scandals with former wives and business partners (Barella, 2004: 9–11). As a solo player in a collective game, Romario fuelled his fame as a media player by campaigning for his own scoring record. Older, and with his glory days far behind him, Romario travelled through the most remote football leagues on a mission to break the record of 1000 goals in the course of his professional career. As if following the script of an especially cheesy Hollywood movie, he returned to Vasco da Gama, the club where he started his professional career as a youngster, to score the thousandth goal (Lousada et al., 2007: 3). The occasion of his eventual breaking of the record was made into a huge media event, in what could certainly be used as a convincing example of the personalization process in sport (Jahlly, 1989: 83).

Elected in 2010 as a Federal Deputy for Rio de Janeiro on behalf of the Brazilian Socialist Party, a tiny pragmatic centre-left party, Romario is notable for his active participation in the Brazilian Congress, denouncing corruption in the Brazilian Football Federation involving the organization of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and as an activist advocating the cause of Down syndrome children. As an engaged father of a daughter born with Down syndrome, Romario received sympathetic media coverage, obscuring his reputation as a selfish hedonist and turning him into a model of personal growth (Moura and Monteiro, 2011: 8). As a former football star, his fierce denunciation of the corruption in the Brazilian Football Federation received mixed responses. Some saw him as the prodigal son fighting to save the beloved national sport from the hands of unscrupulous bosses, while others remembered Romario’s own dubious past and his economic interests in Brazilian football.

Compared to other Brazilian celebrities who have made forays into politics in recent years, Romario’s activity in Congress seems to have escaped the curious-bizarre angle of the media coverage. Brazil is hosting the two most important world sports events, the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games. These two events involve a huge amount of national resources and are expected to top the media’s agenda over the next couple of years. As a former sports superstar turned politician, Romario has turned himself into a voice of authority defending the public interest. However, his overly exaggerated public fights and his anti-politics discourse mocking the inefficiency and corruption of his colleagues in the legislature are not intended to build an alternative political project, but rather to further boost his public persona (Betti, 2012: 15–16).

Up till now, Romario appears to have received positive media coverage, increasing his popularity and his chances of maintaining and even improving his status as a politician. But, in a manner resembling his conduct as a professional football player, he refuses to accept the party leader’s decisions, placing his own career first. When he was barred by his party from running for the office of Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, he did not hesitate to support a rival party candidate. Discontented with his place within the party structure, Romario left his party and flirted with other parties in a bargaining process that he conducted not from an ideological point of view, but from a personal career perspective (Cabral, 2012; Leite, 2013).

In general, it is safe to argue that Romario’s transition to politics has allowed him to maintain and augment his celebrity status. His glorious past as a football star, along with his vociferous, but so far unfruitful crusade against corrupt politicians, has transformed him into an admired public figure for the wider public. Along with his work in Congress related to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Romario has signed on as a sports commentator on a major television network, and keeps promoting public events for commercial bodies (Jardim, 2012; Rangel, 2011).

An astonishing example of the merging of politics and the entertainment sports industries may be found in the efforts made by several political parties to persuade Romario, along with Edmundo, another brilliant and equally controversial Brazilian football player, to join forces and re-enact their former professional partnership in the Vasco da Gama team, this time in the Brazilian Congress (Jardim, 2013). Regarding the citizens of Brazil as television viewers, the political parties are attempting to capture votes by appealing to the desire of football fans to enjoy their beloved stars on the field once more, even if it is not exactly the same field in which they used to display their talent.

Conclusions

Most studies analysing the transition of celebrities to the political sphere up have tended to focus on three main explanations for the celebrity politics phenomenon: electoral systems that allow for multiple political parties; the economic weakness of political party structures; and the impact of mass media, and of commercial television in particular, in supporting civic alienation from politics. From another perspective, political commentators and journalists have tended to view celebrity politics as a form of protest voting, reflecting the distrust of most citizens in the political system.

However, the analysis of Brazilian celebrities’ transition to politics could lead to very different conclusions. Media figures are elected because at least a significant part of the population feels that they somehow represent them, regardless of their ideological convictions. Seen in this view, Tiririca’s campaign slogan, ‘I don’t know what a congressman does; vote for me, and I will tell you later’, could be construed not as a sign of alienation but as an attempt to reach voters who perceive the electoral system as cryptic and lack the necessary analytical tools and cultural capital to understand its functioning. While not ruling out the possibility that some of the voters opted for the media celebrities as a form of protest voting, we should also consider the celebrity politics phenomenon as a form of engagement with politics by citizens who have long felt left out of the political game.

There seems to be a strong element of pleasure and joy in seeing media celebrities playing in uncharted territory, while at the same time the source of gratification could be identified in the elements of continuity between their past and present performances. The visceral reaction to this phenomenon could be to argue that entertainment logic has conquered the field of politics. The answer, however, seems to be a bit more complex. As could be inferred from Romario’s trajectory, the entertainment logic has certainly entered politics, but it did not cause the disappearance of politics altogether. In order to keep their political careers alive, celebrity politicians must take on issues of public concern, present proposals and projects to Congress, and convey a sense of constant activity (real or otherwise). Celebrity status may guarantee a first election to legislative office, but to keep themselves in the political game, celebrities must also learn to perform as proper politicians.

There is an inner tension between the pressure to adapt to the rules of the field of politics and the forces that lead celebrities to maintain those distinctive features which have made them famous in the media. Celebrity politicians seem to integrate their work in the political sphere with their previous work in the entertainment industries. In most of the cases analysed, participation in politics seems to be an effective strategy for improving their position in the media, but not the other way around. The improvement of their status in the entertainment industries and the economic rewards that they obtain through their exposure in the media may be the main cause for the absence of any long-term political alliances with other political parties and activist groups. In the short term, the media careers of celebrities are likely to be reinvigorated by their move into politics, but their attachment to their media persona is likely to impede their potential transition towards a more substantial role in politics.