Brazilian president rallies evangelicals

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday campaigned alongside one of Brazil’s most-followed evangelical pastors. The service was a birthday party for Silas Malafaia, pastor of Assembly of God Victory in Christ, a church with 89 branch locations in the country. Bolsonaro is trying to shore up support from conservative evangelicals in the weeks before the Oct. 2 election. Amid cheers, the leader thanked God for the difficult mission of leading the country. He said Brazil is God’s land. 

What’s the political landscape? Incumbent Bolsonaro is challenged by former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula leads by eight percentage points, according to a Genial/Quaest poll Wednesday. Bolsonaro does lead among evangelicals. The right-wing Bolsonaro started Title Brazil, which intends to give ownership rights to some 340,000 people who live on state-owned or unused private land. Left-wing Silva said the program is a ploy to win votes.  

Dig deeper: From WORLD archives, read Jamie Dean’s report on Bolsonaro’s influence in the region.