Lula says Bolsonaro invented being evangelical – 10/17/2024 – Power
At a rally on Thursday night (17) in Bahia, President Lula (PT) targeted religious voters and criticized Jair Bolsonaro (PL), stating that the former president invented being evangelical and does not follow Christian values.
“We cannot make the mistake of 2018, when instead of voting for a partner with the quality of [Fernando] Haddad, he voted for something, he voted for something that no one knew about except for telling lies and preaching hate. He even invented that he is evangelical. He doesn’t believe in God and he doesn’t believe in God because his behavior is that of someone who doesn’t believe,” said Lula.
The statements were made in Camaçari (60 km from Salvador), where Lula participated in a rally for mayoral candidate Luiz Caetano (PT).
In his speech, Lula patted vice-mayor candidate Pastora Déa (PSB) and said he was proud that the ticket had the participation of a black woman and evangelical pastor.
“There is nothing more extraordinary than this union of two left-wing parties. We are not afraid to say that we are left-wing because no one was more left-wing than Jesus Christ. No one fought more for the poor than Jesus Christ.”
Camaçari is the fourth largest city in Bahia, the electoral birthplace of the Bahian PT and the only city in the state in which the election went to the second round.
In the first round, Caetano had 49.5% of the votes against R$49.1% for Flávio Matos (União Brasil), a difference of less than 600 votes. Among PT members, Lula’s presence is considered crucial to boost the candidacy of his ally, who has already commanded Camaçari for three terms.
Earlier, Lula went to Salvador to announce an investment of R$1.2 billion from the federal government, with resources from the Novo PAC, for the construction of daycare centers and schools, in addition to the acquisition of school vehicles.
The resources are for the construction of 94 daycare centers and regular schools, in addition to 62 full-time schools, serving 39,100 students. 244 school buses will also be purchased.
The Ministry of Education also announced the expansion of Pé-de-Meia, a scholarship program for high school students and one of the main showcases of the Lula government, and reported that it transferred R$382.8 million to program participants.
As pointed out by Sheetthe Pé-de-Meia program has been relaunched several times even without the need for new adhesion from state departments. The program was officially launched on January 26, in Brasília. Afterwards, it was the subject of another 20 official ceremonies.
The event was attended by around 10 thousand students from the state network, according to information from the State Department of Education. On stage, young people participated in rhyme battles and the announcer shouted “Olê, olá, Lula, Lula”
