[2] Pereira is the son of pastor Heraldo and missionary Dilma and was born in Acari, a poor neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

At 17 years old, he joined the Economy and Finances College of Rio de Janeiro and paid for his studies with the salary received from his work at the institute.

[6] Pereira kept himself in the political background until the electoral success of Anthony Garotinho (PR, former PDT) and Benedita da Silva (PT) when they ran for Governor and Vice-Governor, respectively, of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

[10] Pastor Pereira was considered a "public enemy" by LGBT activists for being one of the advocates of the campaign "Man + Woman = Family", which was promoted by the PSC in 2012.

[11] He also received criticism from defenders of LGBT rights after declaring in his 2014 bid for the presidency that, if elected, he would propose a law to the National Congress to revert the decision of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) recognizing same-sex marriage in Brazil.

[13] During the presidential campaign, Pereira also positioned himself against proposals of drug legalization and assumed the image of a defender of the traditional family, arguing that it is mandated by the Constitution.

[14] In 2013, Pereira's ex-wife initiated in the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) a new judicial process, alleging that the pastor committed physical violence, followed by death threats.

[16] In 2020, he was arrested by Operation Tris in Idem, conducted by Federal Police to investigate corruption in Rio de Janeiro State's health secretary.