Satanism, Freemasonry Become Election Topics in Religious Brazil
- Lula said he isn’t the devil, Bolsonaro denies masonry ties
- Presidential candidates step up presence in religious events
T-shirts supporting Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva displayed for sale during Brazil’s largest religious festivals, Cirio de Nazare, in Belem on Oct. 8.
Photographer: Alessandro Falco/BloombergBrazil’s presidential race took a bizarre turn this week as leftist challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro were targeted on social media by false claims about Satanism, Freemasonry -- and even cannibalism.
So great was the flood of disinformation, that Lula, 76, posted a five-point statement on Facebook saying that he had not, in fact, cut a deal with the devil nor had he spoken with Satan. He later participated in an event with Franciscan friars. Bolsonaro, meanwhile, attended on Saturday the country’s largest religious festival, a Catholic celebration known as “Cirio de Nazare” in Belem, capital of the northern state of Para.