The Workers’ Party (PT) published this Monday (8) an open letter aimed at the evangelical electorate. The document mixes biblical quotes with government proposals and defends the re-election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2026.
The document was signed by the IV National Meeting of Evangelicals of the Workers’ Party, which took place in Brasília.
The letter rejects the idea that Brazilian evangelicals are a single political bloc and states that the meeting does not intend to speak on behalf of all denominations. Furthermore, he criticizes the “attempt to transform religion into an instrument of political manipulation”.
The letter is structured around biblical verses that serve as a framework for each thematic block. The document opens with a passage from Isaiah whose text deals with freeing the oppressed and sharing food with the hungry, and uses James, Matthew, Ephesians and Peter throughout the text – always anchoring political positions in New Testament references.
Among the proposals, the document defends the expansion of existing social programs, such as Bolsa Família, Minha Casa Minha Vida and Farmácia Popular, and supports ongoing measures under the Lula government, such as exemption from Income Tax for those earning up to R$5,000 and the end of the 6×1 scale. The letter also talks about strengthening family farming and Agrarian Reform, first job policies for youth, comprehensive care for women’s health and guaranteeing access for the black population to the justice system.
The text also deals with the sovereignty and protection of forests, waters and biodiversity – and uses the expression “Common Home”, associated with Pope Francis.
Continues after advertising
This Monday’s meeting took place amid a conflict between first lady Rosângela Silva, Janja, and pastor Silas Malafaia. He criticized the meetings she has been holding with evangelical women, calling her interlocutors “insignificant”. Janja reversed the adjective against him and stated that he did not recognize him as a pastor.
The PT has difficulty attracting evangelical votes and the letter is a nod towards this electorate. According to the 2022 IBGE Census, evangelicals represented 26.9% of the Brazilian population, and 55.4% of this total were women. Research indicates Lula’s great disadvantage in this spectrum. Furthermore, at the beginning of the year, the president found himself involved in a crisis with part of the evangelical community due to a section of the samba school parade that paid homage to him and that satirized religious groups.
Janja herself was self-critical during the meeting, recognizing that the PT has isolated itself from the churches over the years.
Last week, evangelicals from different denominations gathered at the March for Jesus, in São Paulo. The event was attended by Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), the PT’s main opponent in these elections, but not by Lula. The president stated that he decided not to participate to “not give the idea that he wants to take political advantage of something sacred”. He was represented by the AGU minister, Jorge Messias.
