Marcelo Bezerra Crivella (Portuguese pronunciation: [maʁˈsɛlu biˈzeʁɐ kɾiˈvɛlɐ]; born 9 October 1957) is a Brazilian Evangelical pastor, gospel singer and politician.

[4] He has since helped found the Brazilian Republican Party (PRB) which has been allied with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

With a Civil Engineering degree from Universidade Santa Ursula, Crivella became known for planning and execution of the Projeto Nordeste, a charitable project to redevelop lands abandoned by the Brazilian federal government in the city of Irecê.

[9] Marcelo Crivella entered political life, being a founder of the Brazilian Republican Party (PRB), and ran successfully for the position of Senator in the 2002 elections.

He complained about negative coverage by O Globo newspaper, owned by the second-largest media conglomerate in the country, which published several articles accusing him of fraud.

In 2006, he was gubernatorial candidate for the state of Rio de Janeiro, and was supported by the President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Polls put him in second place, but he was beaten by Denise Frossard, the candidate of the PPS, and Crivella declined to participate in the runoff election.

[12] On 22 December 2020, just nine days before the end of his term as mayor, Crivella was arrested at his home in Rio de Janeiro, after investigations on a kickback corruption scheme during his administration.

He was president of the Subcomissão Permanente de Proteção dos Cidadãos Brasileiros no Exterior (Permanent Subcommittee on Protection of Brazilian Citizens Abroad), subject to the Comissão de Relações Exteriores e Defesa Nacional (Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense), of which Crivella was vice president.

Crivella favors public policies for family planning through sex education and sterilization, and the Law on Biosafety, which regulates research with stem cells.

After protests by activists, he explained that he feared unintended consequences of a proposed law against homophobia, but certainly wants protections and equal rights for homosexuals.