Power plays

Fifth largest country in terms of territory and seventh largest in population, Brazil has a delicate political system, known for its extreme polarization and the use of religion as a method of raising votes in a predominantly Christian country. In Brazil, voting is mandatory, meaning that all people between the ages of 18 and 60 – even those who live abroad – must go to the polls to choose who they want to be the president of the country. Last year, tens of thousands of people went to one of the seven polling stations Canada has in order to vote.

The dispute was mainly between the candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Messias Bolsonaro. The first was president of Brazil between 2002 and 2010 with the Workers Party, and the second was running for re-election for his second term. Although known as left-wing and right-wing candidates respectively, Bolsonaro is also known for his racist, homophobic, sexist speeches, and, during the pandemic, for denying the seriousness of the virus. Lula, who was imprisoned for corruption in 2018, won by a slim margin.

Bolsonaro gained – and still has – strength mainly among Christians in Brazil. The ambiguity of his religion – at times calling himself Catholic, and after that being baptized by an evangelical pastor – won him support from both largest religions in Brazil. His campaign for the 2018 elections had the slogan “Brazil above everything, God above everyone,” which made a significant number of Brazilians vote for him. Even now, he is still called “a messenger sent from God,” “Myth,” and “armored by God” by his electors. The former president is still idolized by supporters who believe that some intervention from God will come and put him back in power, even almost a year after the elections.

Terrible track record

Despite claiming to be religious and having based much of his campaign on stating that he would govern the country for Christians, his behavior is contradictory to the Bible itself.

Bolsonaro became known for his “finger guns” gesture, representing weapons, and saying several times that “a good bandit is a dead bandit.” In a speech made in the state of Acre, Bolsonaro took a camera tripod, pretended it was a gun and said he would shoot the members of the party in opposition to him. Bolsonaro also said that he wanted former president Dilma Rousseff, also from the Workers Party, to end her term “today, whether because of a heart attack or cancer.” Both his and his followers’ speeches are often related to violent acts against minorities.

Bolsonaro has made many controversial statements that go against human rights. He said once that he’d rather have one of his sons killed in an accident than be gay. He’s made derogatory remarks about black women and an offensive joke about raping former congresswoman and Secretary for Human Rights Maria do Rosário. Each of these statements goes directly against the Bible and Christian teachings.

Even with so many controversial and even criminal speeches, many of Bolsonaro’s voters continue to follow him, prioritizing his hate-filled speeches over the teachings of the Bible. Some people say that this is because Brazilians treat politics the same way they treat soccer: you can change the city you live, your job, even your partner, but your soccer team will always be the same. In a similar way, no matter what a politician does, their voters will find a way to defend their actions. Even though the former president has actions that go directly against Christian teachings, just the fact that he says he is a Christian and is doing everything in the name of God is enough for many people to believe him.

After his electoral defeat, Bolsonaro went to the United States for three months. In June, the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court declared Bolsonaro ineligible for the next eight years for abuse of political power and misuse of the media. Currently, Bolsonaro, his wife and their children are testifying to the federal police as suspects in cases involving embezzlement, forgery of documents, tax evasion and criminal association, among others. Many of his voters still defend the former president.