Page 12 - aruba-today-20180915

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 15 September 2018
Evangelicals, growing force in Brazil, to impact elections

By MARCELO SILVA DE SOU- er vision than we do, so it's
SA important that we see his
Associated Press point of view."
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In a Last month, Bolsonaro, who
Brazilian presidential elec- is Catholic, teared up while
tion marked by uncertain- receiving a blessing at a
ties, there is little doubt Baptist church in Rio de
about one thing: Evangeli- Janeiro. Geraldo Alckmin,
cal voters will have a major a former Sao Paulo gov-
impact. ernor who also is Catholic,
They could tip the bal- was a special guest during
ance thanks to their grow- a meeting of pastors in the
ing numbers, presence in state last month. Marina
remote areas and poor Silva, a former environmen-
neighborhoods and orga- tal minister who belongs
nizational muscle, especial- to an evangelical church,
ly since corporations have recently promised evan-
been banned from mak- gelicals in Belo Horizonte,
ing contributions directly to Brazil's third largest city,
candidates in the wake of that any changes to abor-
a the country's huge cor- tion law would have to be
ruption scandal. done via plebiscite and not
Attempts to woo evan- by Congress.
gelicals are apparent on The evangelical vote could
the campaign trail ahead be more important than in
of the Oct. 7 election. In the past because the elec-
recent weeks, one lead- toral field is so splintered,
ing candidate wept while with more than a dozen
receiving prayers during a candidates scrambling for
service at an evangelical advantages.
church. Another promised Now that former President
no legislative changes to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has
Brazil's abortion ban. A third been bumped off the bal-
held meetings with several lot for a corruption convic-
of the most influential pas- tion, Bolsonaro is leading
tors in Sao Paulo, Brazil's Geraldo Alckmin, presidential candidate with the Social Democratic Party, greets supporters as in the polls — apparently
richest and most populist he campaigns in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. with the aid of evangelical
state. Associated Press backers.
"The evangelical vote is While he gets roughly 26
very organic in that pas- construction companies to est broadcasters in Brazil. gressman and former army percent in polls of all voters,
tors and bishops have a politicians. Evangelical churches are captain who has promised he is backed by 33 percent
relationship with followers Evangelical voters in Rio de also major buyers of air- to crack down on crime of voters who identify as
that influences how they Janeiro also helped propel time, so religious programs and root out corruption in evangelical, according to
vote," said Antonio Lava- Marcelo Crivella, a bishop can be seen at just about politics. a poll by research institute
reda, who has written sev- in the Universal Church of any time of the day. "In Brazil, we need a macho Ibope released Tuesday.
eral books on Brazilian poli- the Kingdom of God, to Silas Malafaia, one of the like him," Malafaia said, Ten percent of evangeli-
tics. "It's the opposite in the mayor of Brazil's most fa- most influential pastors in adding that Bolsonaro will cals backed Alckmin and
Catholic Church, where, mous city in 2016. Brazil, makes no apologies "defend all the values and Marina Silva and 7 favored
despite having more con- Brazil, a deeply religious for trying to influence the principals of the Christian Ciro Gomes. Trailing be-
gregants, priests have less country slightly larger than votes of parishioners from family." hind so far was Fernando
direct influence." the continental U.S., is his more than 50 churches. Last weekend, Malafaia Haddad, who has taken
Evangelicals already have home to the world's larg- During a recent interview visited Bolsonaro in the hos- over da Silva's spot for the
a large influence in na- est number of Catholics — with The Associated Press, pital, where the candidate left-leaning Workers' Party,
tional politics. The so-called some 123 million, accord- he said proudly he had was recovering after be- though the poll was con-
"evangelical bloc" in Con- ing to the latest census in helped elect 25 represen- ing stabbed during a cam- ducted before he received
gress is made up of 87 rep- 2010. But evangelicals are tatives and five senators. paign event Sept. 6. da Silva's formal endorse-
resentatives and three sen- growing and now number His own brother is a state "God is an expert in turn- ment for the presidential
ators, about 15 percent of 42 million, or about 20 per- representative for Rio de ing chaos into a blessing," run. The poll interviewed
all federal lawmakers. cent of the total popula- Janeiro. Malafaia said in a video 2,002 people Sept. 8-10
Their votes were instrumen- tion. "I help candidates get that he posted on YouTube and had a margin of error
tal in the 2016 impeach- And there is little compari- elected by lending them from Bolsonaro's hospital of two percentage points.
ment and ouster of Presi- son when it comes to po- my image and words," said room. "Today the candidates
dent Dilma Rousseff for ille- litical activism. While the Malafaia, who from the Albanita Alves, a housewife most in line with our val-
gally managing the federal Vatican frowns on clergy pulpit and on social me- who attends Malafaia's As- ues are Alckmin and Bol-
budget. Joao Campos, a running for office, many dia argues that left-leaning sembly of God Victory in sonaro, but we still need to
congressman and pastor evangelical leaders plunge candidates promote "mor- Christ Church in Rio de Ja- talk to them to know what
who helped lead the bloc, into politics. al garbage" with liberal neiro, says she will follow each is proposing," said
said then that opposing The influence of evangeli- stances on gay marriage her pastor. Bishop Robson Rodovalho,
Rousseff was a way to de- cals extends into media. and abortion. "We have the liberty to a founder of Sara Nossa
fend the poor who had lost Edir Macedo, the founder Malafaia has been outspo- choose our candidate," Terra, a network of evan-
jobs in the wake of scan- of Crivella's church, owns ken in his support for Jair Alves said. "But as a man of gelical churches across
dals over kickbacks from Record TV, one of the larg- Bolsonaro, a far-right con- God, (Malafaia) has a wid- Brazil.q