Lula Against Bolsonaro’s Unification of Religion and State

Brazil's presidential candidate, Lula da Silva, criticized politicians who use faith as a political platform. His position was expressed at a time when his rival, Jair Bolsonaro, carries out such practices to attract voters.

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"I defend the secular state. The State should not have religion and churches should not have political parties", said the politician during a rally in the Anhangabaú Valley, in the city of Sao Paulo.

Although he did not mention names, he accused that "there are people" who use the Church as "a political stage or a company to make money".

"When I want to talk with God, I don't need parents or pastors. I can lock myself in a room and talk to God for as many hours as I want, without needing any favors", commented Lula da Silva, who according to several polls is ahead in the voting preferences of Brazilians.

The man who already governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010 considered that the Church is an institution that should remain outside the State, for which he criticized the defense or promotion of "the candidacies of false prophets or Pharisees who are denying the people the whole day".

Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking reelection, has on many occasions appealed to evangelical speeches to win the voting preference of thousands of religious Brazilians. Last year, he stated that "only God" will be able to remove him from the presidency.

In fact, in his campaign kick-off his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said: "this campaign is another miracle of God, it started in 2019, when God made the miracle in my husband's life because the one who preaches love and pacification attempted against his life".

During his speech in Rio de Janeiro, President Bolsonaro affirmed that Brazil is a "mostly Christian" country, which believes in God and does not want setbacks, in reference to an alleged "return of gender ideology to schools"; he also criticized the legalization of drugs and abortion.