First it was the devil. Now the abortion. Religion is gaining more and more weight in the campaign towards the second round between Jair Bolsonaro and Lula da Silva in Brazil, and the leader of the PT continues to focus on adding votes from the evangelical sector -which represents 30% of the electorate-, traditionally close to his rival.
Unlike the position he showed before the campaign, when he said that the issue it was a “public health problem” and that “everyone should have the right”, Lula launched this Thursday a new video in which claims to be against legal abortion in Brazil.
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“Not only am I against abortion, but every woman I’ve ever married is against abortion,” says Lula in the video, broadcast on the web Metropolises. According to the site, the spot has not yet been broadcast on television, but on YouTube.
“I believe that almost everyone is against abortion. Not only because we are defenders of life, but because it must be something very unpleasant, very painful for someone to have an abortion”, says the leader of the PT in the spot, which ends with the inscription “Lula is in favor of life.”
According to Metropoles, the spot is a response to the attacks by Bolsonaro, who accused the former president of being against family and life.
Lula and Bolsonaro will meet in a ballottage on October 30, after last Sunday the former president came out first with 48 points, five more than the current president. The first polls continue to show him in front.
Abortion is not legal in Brazil. It is only allowed in two cases: when the pregnancy is the result of rape or when the pregnant woman’s life is at risk. In 2012, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ruled that abortion can also be performed when the fetus is anencephalic and cannot survive.
This Friday, Bolsonaro reacted on Twitter to Lula’s new video.
“Lula now tries to say that he is against abortion, while being supported by those who defend it; that he is a Christian, while being supported by those who hate the church; that he is against drugs, being supported by those who are in favor; that he is against corruption, while he and his gang were arrested for it, ”wrote the president.
“The left claims to be proud of its flags, but hides them in an election year. They know that if they told the truth about what they preach, they would never be accepted, so they lie about what they feel. They could be honest and let the people decide, but greed and ambition speak louder”, he continued.
“There is nothing more shameful than defending an idea contrary to everything you believe only to be accepted. It is the worst sign for a leader. After all, those who, through power, are able to put aside even their own values, will never lift a finger to defend those of a nation”, he concluded.
Pact with the devil
In an aggressive campaign, the issue of abortion arises after this week the Lula por la Verdad account, of the PT, published a clarification after sectors of Bolsnarism linked the former president with “the devil.”
“The Bolsonaristas are trying to link Lula to Satanism! Other fake nonsense going around. Show the truth to the people who are believing this story”, they expressed through a tweet, along with four “truths” about the former president, under a large sign that indicates “Lula is a Christian.”
The first is that “Lula believes in God and is a Christian.” The second, that “Lula has no pact nor has he ever conversed with the devil.” After “Lula believes that a president should take care of those who are hungry.” And, finally, that “with Lula in the presidency, Brazil experienced a moment of prosperity and the country became the sixth largest economy in the world.”