Religious leaders defend PL from Fake News – 05/02/2023 – Politics

Religious leaders gathered in the Chamber of Deputies this Tuesday (2) to say that they are in favor of the approval of the Fake News PL, a position contrary to what the evangelical bench has been defending in recent days.

The vote on the project, scheduled for this Tuesday (2), may be postponed due to the chances of the text being rejected by the plenary.

In the morning, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) received the President of the Chamber, Deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), for a private meeting at the Alvorada Palace. Lira remained in place for about 45 minutes.

Member of Lula’s support base, federal deputy Pastor Henrique Vieira (PSOL-RJ) stated that the project cares for religious freedom, is ripe for voting and does not present a margin or interpretation suitable for censorship. “Whoever is saying this is either uninformed or acting with bad intent.”

“I regret that certain evangelical leaders in Parliament are little concerned with democracy, with our schools, with our children and adolescents. And even saying that religious freedom will be prohibited”, added Vieira, who is not a member of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front of the Chamber .

Pastor Ricardo Gondim, from Bethesda Church, said that digital platforms “cannot guide an entire country” and that he supports the Fake News PL.

“Brazil is a sovereign country. We need to say that digital platforms will not be a wild field, they will not be a field where nobody knows what is happening”, he said.

In addition to Gondim, Sérgio Dusilek (Marapendi Baptist Church), Bishop Marisa (Emeritus Bishop of the Methodist Church), Friar Lorrane (Franciscan Order of Friars Minor) and Pastor Camila Oliver (Nazareth Baptist Church, Alliance of Baptists of Brazil).

Last week, the project began to face increasing resistance among the evangelical group. On Saturday (29), the president of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front of Congress (FPE), federal deputy Eli Borges (PL-TO), said that the group will take a course contrary to the approval of the PL.

He said, in a released note, that the FPE viewed the report by Orlando Silva (PC do B-SP) with concern, even though he included suggestions from the bench, but that “the text maintains in its rules several devices that penalize the plurality of ideas and especially Christian values”.

On the same day, the president of the Republicans, Marcos Pereira, said that the party will also vote against the project and that, even with the suggestions accepted, “the text is still bad”.

“The Republicans will vote no, not because they believe there needs to be regulation, yes, there must be regulation on the subject. But not the one that is being proposed at the moment”, stated Pereira.

The decision is important because, in the approval of the emergency regime by 238 to 192, the acronym was fundamental, with 29 votes in favor of the faster procedure.