Battle for the votes of the faithful in Brazil: Lula da Silva shows religious ads 23 million times in 3 weeks

The campaign of former president and candidate for the presidential palace, socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT, left), has spent R$227.5 (US$45) thousand in the last three weeks on 23 million ads aimed at religious audiences.

This is an attempt to stem the advance of the main opponent, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), among evangelicals.

Read also: Analysis – Evangelicals and popular governments in Latin America

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At the heart of these ads was the rumor spread by the Bolsonarists that the petista would close the temples if elected.

Of the total money spent, 70% was spent on ads mentioning the former president’s sanctions against the Religious Freedom Act.

The videos advertised are listed below:

• Lula da Silva says the Church is not a political party (1min16s):
• Petista’s campaign uses religious music (1min):

“Lula da Silva wants to close evangelical churches? That’s a lie,” the campaign video says (1:06 min):

In addition to the materials used on the Internet, there were also statements to this effect in television commercials.

For example, on Aug. 27, Lula included religious music on the air.

On Sept. 1, he said, “Christ taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PT

The sense of persecution (which dates back to a time when evangelicals were only a tiny part of the population) and sermons on the subject are prevalent in the temples, even outside the election period.

This makes this type of message attractive, Vinícius do Vale of the Evangelical Observatory tells Poder360.

According to the political scientist, who has collected reports of these electoral messages among evangelicals, the greatest damage to the PT campaign is not the rumor but the environment created in the churches.

“Those who are already predisposed believe it. The problem is that it has become tough for someone from that segment to take a different position in public than that of the majority [against PT],” says the researcher.

Vinícius do Vale, author of the book “Between Religion and Lulism,” notes that a small (but significant) segment of evangelicals rejects the growth of politics in churches.

However, this group would be ashamed to speak out.

“Lula da Silva’s campaign seeks to break through this unique discourse and connect with these believers. It can show empathy and not lose further ground,” he says.

On Friday (Sept. 9), there will be a personal attempt to reduce the sector’s resistance. Lula and his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), will attend a meeting with evangelicals in São Gonçalo (RJ).

The latest PowerData poll, released on Aug. 31, shows Lula da Silva receiving 44% of the vote in the first round. Jair Bolsonaro has 36%.

However, Bolsonaro has a significant lead among evangelicals.

The same poll shows that the current president has 64% of the electoral votes in this group, while the PT candidate has only 24%. Read more about the poll at the end of this text.

In June, Bolsonaro had 44% in the evangelical electorate versus 35% for Lula da Silva.

With information from Poder360