The Workers’ Party (PT) chose to leave aside customs issues — such as abortion and gay marriage — from the party’s congress aimed at the evangelical segment. The acronym targets the growth of support for the re-election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in this portion of the electorate, which was overwhelmingly with Bolsonarism in the last two elections for the Planalto.
The national coordinator of the PT’s inter-religious sector, Gutierres Barbosa, argues that these are topics under discussion in the National Congress. According to him, there is an understanding that Lula’s administration must, at the moment, concentrate its efforts on “governing the country”.
— There are central themes for us, and we will dialogue with religious segments about them. Religious people will be treated with respect by PT. We are not separated from religious demands. It’s not just strategy, it’s a question of belonging — says Barbosa, who also highlights the acronym’s position in defense of science.
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The most recent round of the Genial/Quaest survey, released last week, shows that senator and pre-candidate for Planalto Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) lost support among evangelicals, going from 61% of voting intentions in a potential second round against Lula, in May, to 52% in June. The PT member had an opposite result: it went from 24% to 31% in the segment.
Barbosa relates Lula’s rise in the segment to the weariness of evangelicals with Bolsonarism, especially after the release of messages between Flávio and Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Master, in which the senator asks for money to finance the film “Dark horse”.
— How can the party that defends morality be up to its neck in this corruption scandal? We also have congresses, to dialogue in the most human way possible. People are realizing that PT is rooted in churches. People are knowing the truth — says Gutierres Barbosa.
Letter to the segment
At the beginning of the month, the PT released a letter aimed at evangelical voters in which it cited issues dear to the Lula government, such as social programs and the defense of national sovereignty. The text, which does not touch on controversial issues such as abortion, was written after the IV National Meeting of the Evangelical Nucleus of the acronym.
As part of the strategy of approaching the evangelical segment, the PT letter states that President Lula sanctioned laws that “guarantee the right to free worship and the creation of churches”. Decrees that recognize gospel music as national culture and heritage are also mentioned, in addition to the creation of the National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance and the National Day of the March for Jesus.
“The PT governments never opposed the churches, they always had an attitude of respect and recognition of the importance and role of the Evangelical Church”, says the text. In the letter, the acronym also says to encourage “the active presence of evangelical women and men in public debates, in the formulation of proposals and in the construction of the paths that will define the future of the country”. Elsewhere, the document says that the commitment to “a more just, supportive and inclusive Brazil” does not come from “the electoral use of faith” and that “one should not take political advantage of a sacred thing”.
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In the letter, the evangelical nucleus of the PT says it defends the “expanding and deepening” of public policies such as Bolsa Família and Minha Casa Minha Vida, in addition to other social programs. The text also states that the “defense of democracy, social justice, agrarian reform, combating hunger, valuing work, protecting the most vulnerable are part of Jesus’ message”. The document also defends the end of the 6×1 scale.
The letter also addresses the issue of public security and claims to defend policies capable of confronting organized crime and protecting families. Emphasis is given to combating violence against women, which is treated as a topic to be addressed in the PT candidate’s government plan. The letter defends the “expansion of public policies aimed at women’s comprehensive health, combating violence and focusing on their care and acceptance in relation to their physical and mental health”.
The document also mentions the defense of national sovereignty, a theme that has been one of the Lula government’s bets to oppose Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and the government of American President Donald Trump. “Sovereignty strengthens the capacity of the Brazilian people to decide their own destiny, protect their strategic resources and build a development project committed to social justice and the common good”, says the letter.
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