José Maria Eymael


José Maria Eymael is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, businessman, and founder of the Democracia Cristã, known in English as the Christian Democracy.

Political Biography

Eymael joined the Christian Democratic Party in 1962, in Porto Alegre, becoming a member the Young Christian Democrats. The PDC was extinguished by the Institutional Act number two on 27 October 1965, during Brazil's military dictatorship, and was refounded in 1985. Eymael was responsible for its reorganization in the state of São Paulo.
In 1985 Eymael was a candidate for mayor of São Paulo, but lost the election. However, the PDC's campaign jingle, with the chorus "Ey Ey Eymael", helped make him popular, and has been associated with him throughout his political career.
In 1986 and again in 1990, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. He ran again for mayor of São Paulo in 1992 but lost again.
In 1993 the PDC merged with the Democratic Social Party, forming the Reform Progressive Party. Eymael, opposed the merge and left the PPR. In 1995, he founded the PSDC, whose professes a commitment to the family, to defend their values and full service for their needs.

Accomplishments as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies

Congressional Deputy Eymael was rated by the Inter-unionist Department of Parliamentary Advising as one of the twelve most influential lawmakers in Congress and at the end of the work of the Constituent National Assembly he had 145 proposals approved, placing was among the fifteen with the highest number. Among these proposals, there are the following:
While in the National Constituent Assembly, Eymael was also the author of the speech advocating the retention of the name of God in the preamble of the Constitution, opposing its proposed removal.

Presidential candidacies

Eymael was a candidate for president in 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 traveling in each campaign through every Brazilian state. In the 2010 election, Eymael gathered 89,350 votes, placing fifth.

Life outside politics

Jose Maria Eymael is a lawyer specializing in taxes and an entrepreneur in the areas of marketing and communications. He is married, and has two children and five grandchildren.