Amid the presidential race in Brazil, candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been forced to deny fake news accusing him of seeking to undermine freedom of religion in Brazil.
And even though during Lula da Silva's government Law 10,825 was approved, which determined the free creation and structuring of churches, allowing the formalization of places of worship for different religions, the former president and now candidate has been accused by Marco Feliciano, pastor and candidate of the PL-SP and even by his opponent Jair Bolsonaro, of having intentions to close churches and "having a pact with the devil."
Jair Bolsonaro's accusations were replicated as part of his electoral campaign, however Da Silva has repeatedly rejected the use of churches and religion as a "political space."
The current president leads voting intentions among evangelicals because throughout his government and his campaign for the presidency, he has repeated a discourse based on the defense of Christian values.
Lula speaks out against accusations
In light of the recent spread of videos on social media and messaging platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp – media that Bolsonaro has used since 2018 in his presidential campaigns – which claimed that Lula da Silva “has a pact with the devil”, the candidate was forced to deny these fake news.
"For me, faith is something very sacred. I take my spirituality very seriously. I like to do things with a lot of truth within me," da Silva said on his Instagram account. Twitter.
"I take religion very seriously. Faith and spirituality cannot be trivialized. People know me and know that I am religious. I made the Religious Freedom law, the day of the March for Jesus. I have an 8-year legacy with 87 percent approval," the candidate said in another tweet.
Moreover, this fake news has been denied by various members of the evangelical community and even Father Júlio Lancelloti, who fights for homeless communities, has declared that "Lula does not close churches, but opens his heart."
Independent churches show support for Lula da Silva
Thanks to Law 10,825 in Brazil, there is freedom to create and organize churches without the need to link them to large institutions such as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, Renacer and the World Church of the Power of God, which has increased the number of independent evangelicals.
In this sense, Pastor Ariovaldo Ramos considers that it is an opportunity for the Workers' Party –PT– to which Lula da Silva belongs, because "in independent churches, politics is not a frequent topic as in the large churches where there is great support for Bolsonaro." In addition, the Front of Evangelicals for the Rule of Law has shown its support for Da Silva.
With information from Brazil de Fato.
This note was made with the support of the organization Global Exchange in collaboration with Peninsula 360 Press.
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